My Angel
by Nostawen Gailithil
Summary: Set 10 years after Breaking Dawn unless otherwise stated . The Cullen's move to another town where they meet Sophia, and where the Cullen's go, trouble follows. Note: Not really focused on the Cullen's.
1. Prologue

**Prologue (1953)  
**

Her scent hit me like a concrete wall. And then I saw her.

She was the most beautiful creature that I had seen in my extended life. I wanted her, I craved her, but not in the way that others of my kind would want. She was talking to a group of girls, her jet black hair pulled back into a twist at the back of her head, her delicate hands intertwined in front of her like the lady she was supposed to be.

Her eyes flicked over towards me, and for that one second, I could feel the magnetic pull towards her chocolate brown eyes. It took all of my strength not to step out from under the shadow of the trees and take her with me now. But she had broken the gaze, and was now walking away with her friends. I knew that she saw me, and the way that she hesitated, I knew that she had felt the pull as well.

I followed her from the shadows, jumping from tree to tree until she was in a beautiful garden. Gradually, they were joined by other girls until there were at least 30 of them milling around. A large lady sauntered up to them and called them into a line. I stayed in my tree, hidden from view and watched as one by one the girls were called up on stage. Now that she was standing with the other graduates, she stood out greatly, and not just in her beauty, but the way she was always fidgeting and making slight faces at her headmistress's speech. These were tiny, insignificant details that humans couldn't pick up, but it told me of her personality and I felt the pull towards her become stronger.

I watched as her eyes started darting around the crowd, completely ignoring her headmistress now. Her right hand started tapping her left in impatience, and as her hand shifted, it revealed a large diamond that glinted in the sun.

She was engaged.

I grabbed the nearest branch and squeezed, the emotion that coursed through me was unbearable. This woman, who was so beautiful, in scent and in looks, already belonged to somebody else. I searched the crowd to see if I could find the man who held this girl's heart.

And I found him. He was a tall man, well built (not that it mattered how strong he was), and very wealthy, according to his power suit. I squeezed the branch harder in my fight to stop from jumping on him and killing him in an instant. He wasn't good enough for her. He would make her stay at home and become a mere housewife when it was so obvious she was deemed for greater things. It would be too easy to rid this man, to grant this girl this one favour, but there were too many witnesses.

Suddenly, the branch cracked with a loud snap. Everybody looked around for the source of the noise but I was quicker. I was out of there before the noise even reached their ears and their human brains registered that something had happened. I was out of there before I lost my restraint and kidnapped the girl.

As I was running, a plan started to form in my head. I didn't want her in the way my kind would have wanted her. She was too beautiful to be lifeless. I didn't want her for the couple of sweet seconds it would have taken to drain her of her blood. I had to have her...

Forever.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 – Sophia**

I drummed my hands against the table. Like any other normal teenager, I had days where I looked forward to going to high school. And there were days like today, the ones where I wanted to be anywhere but here. And school hadn't even started. But this was one of the days where I didn't have Matthew with me.

The weather definitely matched my mood. It was overcast and the dark clouds were threatening to drench us. But unlike most normal teenagers, I welcomed this weather. It meant that I didn't have to try so hard.

My friends were chattering excitedly next to me but I couldn't seem to muster up enough energy to join them. The whole school was buzzing with the news; I could feel it as soon as I walked into the school gates. A new family had moved in last night and they were starting school today.

"Apparently there are six kids" Gabby Frost told our tight little circle. "_Six_!" she exclaimed, like the concept of having six kids in a family was insane. She obviously hadn't watched The Brady Bunch.

"But only one of them is actually related to the parents" Nina Courts corrected her, almost smugly. "He's the dad's nephew, and the rest are adopted."

"Well I heard that they even adopted twins" Daniel Grey contributed. "A boy and a girl"

"Honestly, Dan, you're as bad as the girls" Kyle Rogers rolled his eyes.

"How can they afford to adopt five children?" Gabby shook her head in disbelief, ignoring Kyle's comment.

"The dad's a doctor" Nina answered Gabby.

"Maybe he's a drug dealer" Kyle raised his eyebrows mysteriously.

"Shut up, Kyle" Gabby rolled her eyes. "Have you heard anything, Soph?" I shook my head in reply. Though it was an outright lie, I heard plenty of things about this new family just by _walking_ through the school. But I wasn't going to share my gossip with the others. I just wasn't in the mood.

They ignored me, just as I hoped they would, and started twirling a strand of my black hair around my fingers, watching it as it started to slightly curl. Matt had left this morning, but school seemed to be pointless without him. Everything seemed to be pointless without him. My memories took me back to the first day that I ever saw him. I would never forget that day, no matter how much it tried to slip away from me.

* * *

I was with my friends, bored, as per usual when I felt somebody was staring at me. I thought that it was just Jason, after all, our parents had set us up and he was definitely more excited about the arrangement than I was. I had looked around to find the source of the tingling feeling in my spine, and that was when I saw him.

He was standing under a large tree, leaning casually against its large trunk. He was perfect. His light brown hair was sitting in a neat mess on his head, and I could see his beautiful dark eyes peering out from the curtain of his hair. He was young, probably around my age, and at times, when the tree moved slightly in the wind, it was like he was shimmering slightly. I forced myself to look away, knowing that was what I should do, and convinced my friends that we needed to go back to the gardens, even though we weren't due back for another hour or so, but I was always the persuasive type.

* * *

From that moment, I couldn't get him out of my head. It took all of my willpower to stop myself from running back towards the mysterious, perfect, stranger.

"Soph?" Nina said softly, breaking me out of my reverie. "Bells rung" she told me. I looked around and saw everyone moving, so I jumped off the table, gathered my things and followed her to our class.

It wasn't until lunch when I managed to get my first glimpse at the newcomers. I found that three were in the year below us, and three were in our year. I had sure heard a lot about them though. Beautiful, graceful and strange were the most common descriptions.

"They are the strangest family, honestly!" Gabby was chattering next to me as we walked towards the cafeteria. "They're all paired up! It was like this dad of theirs chose his adopted kids according to who would make the perfect match!" I nodded my head absentmindedly. Something was bugging me about all the rumours flying around about this new family. "And they all move with such grace!" Gabby continued, not noticing my lack of enthusiasm in her gossip. "They are definitely a beautiful family though! Perfect hair, porcelain white skin, golden eyes..." she sighed. I stopped in my tracks and wheeled around to face her, maybe a little too quickly as she stared at me in surprise.

"What did you say?" I asked her.

"Umm..." Gabby faltered. "They're beautiful?" she suggested. And then I felt it. We were already in the cafeteria, sitting at our usual table, when the atmosphere in the cafeteria started buzzing with excitement. I looked up and followed my gaze to where everyone else was staring, where their excited whispers were aimed at.

And I froze.

They were definitely beautiful there was no doubt about that. They were walking together so casually, like not every single person was staring at them. A beautiful blonde walked in first, confidence emanating from her perfect body, with a large boy who resembled more of a bear than a man. Following the couple was a pixie like girl, tiny compared to the bear that she was walking behind. She was walking, well more like dancing, arm in arm with a tall blonde boy. He must have been the other blonde girl's twin. And the last couple to walk were the ones that broke me out of my frozen state. I noticed the girl first. She was frail, but emitted a strong vibe about her. Her brown hair cascaded down her back in soft curls. Her hand was grasped tightly in the last member of the new family. As soon as I caught sight of him, I was out of my seat and walking towards them, reminding myself to move slowly as to not alarm.

They caught sight of me when I was only a couple of steps away. Their eyes widened in shock and they stopped in their tracks. I kept walking, and just before I enveloped my arms around the bronze-haired boy, I said quietly, "Eddie"


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - Sophia  
**

"Umm... Do I know you?" Edward gently pulled away as the others were looking curiously at us.

"I'm sorry" I apologised quickly, and retreated, embarrassment creeping on my face. "I just got overwhelmed with the sight of you." I explained, though, my head was racing that it might not have been such an explanation at all. "Sorry," I apologised again. "I don't know you" I answered his question. "But you know my partner, Matthew" I explained properly this time.

"Matthew" he repeated, his face became a mixture of emotions.

"Who's Matthew?" the blonde girl asked, giving me an uneasy glance.

"You don't know who Matthew is?" the brunette one with Edward asked in surprise.

"Can we talk somewhere else?" Edward asked me in a low voice, glancing around at the crowded cafeteria.

"Nobody is paying us any attention" I waved my hand. Our little gathering looked over at Edward curiously, he seemed to be distracted for awhile, and then nodded slightly.

"So who are you?" The big one asked me.

"I'm sorry" I realised that I still hadn't explained myself properly. "My name is Sophia"

"I'm Alice" the pixie one introduced herself. "This is Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett and Bella. And you already know Edward apparently" she indicated each one.

"And how do you know Matthew?" Edward interrupted the greetings, not breaking his gaze on my face. He had stepped slightly in front of Bella, also not breaking his grip on her hand. She was peering around him, staring at me curiously.

"He was the one who... Well..." I indicated my identical porcelain white skin. "Changed me"

"He changed you?" Edward asked, obviously surprised. "I didn't know he had that much self control"

"He's changed a lot since you knew him, Eddie" I told him, maybe a little more spitefully than I had intended.

"Where is he?" Edward asked.

"Hunting" I replied. Then as an afterthought, "Animals, not humans"

"Should we really be talking about this in the middle of a crowded cafeteria?" The blonde one, Rosalie growled.

"Nobody's listening" Edward replied quietly, looking at me curiously.

"How can nobody be listening?" she answered, now staring at me as well.

"She's doing it" Edward breathed. Now everybody was staring at me. I knew they wanted an explanation but lunch time was only an hour and it was already half over.

"I'll explain later when I have time to explain properly" I reassured them. "Why don't you come to my house after school?" I suggested. "I'm sure you don't need me to tell you directions" I said, keeping the amusement out of my face as everyone stared at me in surprise.

"We'll meet you after school" Edward nodded in confirmation and I walked off as Bella hissed something in Edward's ear, feeling their eyes on me every step of the way. I thought, '_You better find a table to sit at, it does take some energy for me to keep this up_', I knew Edward was still listening to my thoughts.

"So how was the new family?" Kyle asked as I joined the table.

"Good enough to sit with us?" Gabby pitched in.

"Well, they're definitely pretty enough" Nina nodded in agreement. "But there's something about them that I just don't like"

"They're ok" I reassured her. "Just a little different" I shrugged.

"That blonde one is _hot_!" Daniel exclaimed. "I wonder if she's really attached to that guy she's with" he contemplated.

"Dan, don't even try" I laughed lightly. "Have you seen how massive he is? He could probably kill you with one arm tied behind his back if he even catches you staring inappropriately at her" I rolled my eyes. How little Daniel knew how true my statement was.

Lunch went past with just a few more glances at the new family, but nothing major. I separated from the rest of the group as the bell rang, heading off to my Advanced English class. The excitement of actually meeting another group of vampires had lifted my spirits. I hadn't met any vampires before, and the fact that there were now 6 vampires _living_ in our town, possibly 8 vampires, assuming that the parents were vampires too, (they couldn't very well be human and had taken in 6 teenage vampires by coincidence) had excited me beyond belief.

I took my usual seat, really feeling the emptiness in the chair next to me that was usually filled with Matt's presence now that I wanted to so badly talk to him about this new coven. I took out my English books and as I straightened back up, I saw the blonde girl walking into the class. She took one look at me and pursed her lips, but walked straight up to the empty chair next to me and sat down, not taking her eyes off me the entire time.

"Rosalie, wasn't it?" I asked. I wasn't going to be intimated by this girl. This was my school, and my town.

"Yes" she replied shortly. "How do you do it?" she finally asked after looking at me curiously for a couple of minutes.

"I would rather like to explain it once if that's ok" I told her. "It took us years to figure out the extent of what I can do, I don't want to stop and start and repeat myself" I explained.

"No, I don't mean that" Rosalie shook her head. "I mean, how can you stand to be in such close proximity with..."she looked around her carefully and dropped her voice so that it was too low for human ears to hear, "Humans?"

"That comes with the explanation" I shrugged. "But it's got a lot to do with self control" I told her.

"You look so..." she trailed off and looked down at her hands. "Normal" she finished quietly. She looked so upset for one second, like she envied me, but then she shook her blonde curls and smiled. "It must be nice"

"Humans are boring" I told her and laughed. "But I guess it is nice to be around other people. How long have you been with the others?"

"Too long" Rosalie laughed as well. "But I've been with Edward, Carlisle, Esme, our parents, and Emmett the longest. Alice and Jasper joined us later and Bella's only been with us for the past decade"

"That must be nice" I told her.

"What, being with the same, boring old people for almost a century?" Rosalie laughed.

"No, being with other people without having to always be on guard" I corrected her. "It does get very tiring, keeping up this façade. Plus I haven't spent that much quality time with others of our kind. All I've really known is Matthew." I explained. "It must be nice to have people you can relax with and totally be yourself around"

"And being... one of us... does have its perks" Rosalie pointed out.

"Like running" I nodded.

"And the strength" Rosalie added.

"And the beauty" I had to add. Being perfect was definitely at the top of my list of benefits of being a vampire.

"Well how else would we get our intended prey?" Rosalie said humorously and we both laughed.

"And being around humans definitely has its perks too" I told her.

"Like feeling, just for at least one second, that you have your normal life back, that things weren't always so complicated." Rosalie agreed, though a little more sombrely than before.

"You know, you can always join me in my world if you ever get lonely on your side" I offered her.

"And you can always join me on my side if you ever get lonely in your world" Rosalie offered me. We smiled at each other; complete understanding crossing the gap between us.

English went by surprisingly fast. Rosalie and I kept talking, though by writing notes to each other, we weren't going to be caught chatting, even if nobody else could hear us, we didn't want anyone to be suspicious, and I was too excited to try and divert their attention like I had in the cafeteria.

Rosalie told me all about her family, the Cullen's. Sure enough, Carlisle was a doctor, just like Gabby had said, and they were acting as adopted children, though Edward was acting as Carlisle's nephew, just to mix things up a little apparently. She told me about how Jasper could control other people's emotions, and how Alice could see the future, which was why they had decided to move here in the first place. Alice could see that moving here would be beneficial.

She told me of Bella, and the strange way that she had entered their lives as a human. She had also informed me on Bella's daughter, Renesmee, which I couldn't help but gape at. I didn't even know such a thing was possible, let alone there being another boy and a family that existed of half human half vampire girls who lived in South America. She was now a young woman, fully mature, and was married to a boy named Jacob Black. I couldn't help but notice the way Rosalie's face changed from a soft, loving expression when she was telling me about Renesmee, to a harder, edgier face, her lips pursed when she moved onto Jacob. I had let it go though, wanting to know more about this Renesmee. As English finished, we rubbed out the paper quickly to hide all evidence and I tucked it into my pocket to burn later. We couldn't be too careful.

"Wow, Bella has a daughter" I shook my head in disbelief as we followed the crowd heading out of the door.

"Almost killed her in the process" Rosalie told me.

"So where is Renesmee now?" I asked.

"Living with Jacob" Rosalie answered, her face changing again. "It's the first time that any of us are away from her" and I could see the pain in her eyes. "But Carlisle managed to convince us that Nessie and Jacob needed some time to themselves, at least for a couple of years." Rosalie explained.

"Why didn't they come with you?" I asked. Surely if it was so painful to be separated from them, they would have come along?

"Jacob..." Rosalie's expression hardened. "Isn't one of us" her nose wrinkled with a memory, "He's a shapeshifter, and so he has to stay back with his pack" she explained.

"And just when I thought I had heard it all!" I shook my head.

"We are a little strange aren't we?" Rosalie admitted.

"Well I stand by my previous comment. Humans are definitely boring!" I laughed.

Rosalie was with me for our next class in Math, so we walked together, continuing our chat about Rosalie's previous life and her very interesting family. We walked into the class together, barely noticing the way everybody's heads turned around to stare at us. We noticed Rosalie's beau, Emmett sitting near the back of the class and went to join him.

"Sophia" Emmett nodded in my direction, still staring at me curiously. Maybe even more so now that he could see the ease at which Rosalie was chatting to me. Either way, he refrained from asking any questions. Instead he said in a low growl, "You better tell that Dan boy he is not to go near Rose" I looked over at him and saw that he was smiling.

"He values his life" I said, amusement in my voice. "You have nothing to worry about with him"

"I'm actually offended about something though" Emmett leant back in his chair, crossing his arms.

"And what would that be?" I asked. He was very easy going, not the thick headed beast I had thought at first.

"I could beat him with _both_ arms tied around my back" he told me.

"Oh well, my bad" I put my hands up in surrender and laughed.

"You think too highly of yourself, Em" Rosalie laughed, though she was staring at him with admiration.

"And right now, you better keep those two arms to yourself" I told him and indicated the tall, brown haired boy that had just walked into the class. I waved him over and he walked up to us, very curious. "Hey, Dan" I greeted him as he sat down.

"Hey" he greeted me, though his eyes kept darting towards the couple next to me.

"Dan, I would like you to meet Emmett and Rosalie" I introduced the two. He smiled a little shyly at them, the first time I had ever seen him act shy. He was often so confident around other people, but I guessed that it was the way Emmett was staring him down. But he had no time to respond as the teacher called the class to order. This time there was less chatting between Rosalie and I, mainly due to the fact that Dan was too close to us for us to get away with anything, though we still managed to sneak a couple of comments on the advantages and disadvantages of our different lives.

I was surprised by how easy it was to talk to Rosalie. I had thought of her as shallow and uptight initially, but the more that we spoke, the more that I saw she was very much like me. I liked her, and I knew that somehow, within the two classes, we had formed a bond of understanding. Maybe that was the beneficial thing that Alice had seen in their future. I could see the sadness in Rosalie's golden eyes, no matter what bravado she had herself masked in. Though when she was around Emmett, I could see some of the sadness melt away and an expression of pure and passionate love had taken its place. It had reminded me of the love that I held for Matthew, maximised only by his absence today.

It was definitely the wrong time for Matthew to go hunting, I wasn't going to see him until tomorrow night and there was so much that I wanted to share with him. Also, I wanted this new family to meet him, especially Edward, though his reaction today was unreadable, I knew that Matthew would be more than ecstatic to be reunited with his old friend.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - Sophia  
**

"Sophia" I turned around at the sound of my name. It was an unfamiliar voice, but soothing and comforting at the same time. At the doorway, I found a very handsome young man with bright blonde hair, and standing next to him was a beautiful woman, her warm smile brightening up her white face. "My name is Carlisle and this is Esme" he indicated the petite woman next to him. "I see that we are the last ones to arrive" he looked behind me at his family milling around the living room. "I hope you haven't been waiting long"

"Of course not" I smiled at him. It was very hard not to immediately like this man and his wife. "Come in" I stepped aside to let them in.

"Thank you so much for letting us into your lovely home" Esme told me, her voice as warm as her smile as she passed by.

"Well, it does get a little lonely when Matthew goes hunting" I admitted, closing the door behind you. "So everyone is always welcome"

"In a big house like this, it's no surprise" Esme agreed, looking around at the large room we were standing in. "It's beautiful though" she told me, smiling that warm smile again.

"Thank you" I replied, smiling earnestly back at her.

"Now that everybody is here, will you _please_ let us know what's going on?" Emmett asked impatiently.

"Emmett" Esme gave him a reproving glance.

"No, it's ok" I reassured her. "I have been keeping them in the dark all afternoon. I just don't usually like to repeat myself" I explained.

"Before you say anything," Bella spoke up quietly from where she was sitting, Edward holding a protective arm around her waist. "Can I please ask something?"

"Of course" I replied cautiously. I found her very curious, and I couldn't help but feel cautious around her, I wasn't sure why, though I knew I should give her the benefit of the doubt. My first impressions proved wrong about Rosalie and Emmett anyway!

"Why didn't you go hunting with Matthew?" Bella asked.

"I..." I hesitated. The whole family was feeling uneasy about me already and I wanted them to give me a chance. "I don't hunt"

"Is that why you're eyes are black?" she asked, staring straight into my dark eyes. Of everything she could have asked, this was one that I least expected. None of the vampires that I had met briefly ever commented on the colour of my eyes, though I knew that it was a stark contrast to Matthew's golden ones. It was never a question to them. But now this new family, all with the same deep golden eyes were staring at me, mixed emotions crossing their faces as they took in my black eyes. I had to look away, their stares left me feeling uneasy.

"Maybe I should start at the beginning" I sighed and stood in the middle of the room. "I was born in 1935 into a wealthy family. As I grew up, I knew that I was different from all the young ladies surrounding me. I was bored and extremely restless when all my friends were just sitting around gossiping, not something that they liked in a lady in those days. I also realised that I was a very persuasive person. I was able to talk my way out of trouble, talk other people into doing something they never thought was possible, and I realised that I could make people see things in a different light.

"Matthew was the one who found me. It was my graduation from the most prestigious lady's school of the time. I had finished top of my class, though the classes were preposterous" I scoffed at the memory of what they had taught us in those days, "and I was going to be married to a lawyer" I told them bitterly. "It was all arranged of course, mostly by my... husband" I hesitated at the word. "The first time that I saw Matthew, I never knew a feeling like that existed. I was so bored by my little comfortable world, and he came into my life like a tornado, turning my life upside down." I smiled at the fading memory. "I fell in love with him, even after I found out who he was."

"You knew?" Rosalie gasped.

"He didn't tell me" I reassured them. I had heard enough about the laws of vampires that keeping our secret was the number one priority in our lives, "Well not directly anyway. He had made up a plan, and he just wanted my permission to change me."

"Your permission?" Edward repeated in a tight voice, his face showing a fight in his emotions.

"Well, he fell in love with me" I said slowly. I knew that I was treading on thin ice; everyone was staring at me with shock and a little bit of horror on their faces. "And he wanted me, but not to kill me..." I heard a scoff coming from Edward, but when I looked over his face hadn't changed a bit. "So he kept visiting me when my husband was out of the house. He tested the waters; he didn't want to change me if I didn't want to be changed" I told them, a little more defensively than I had meant it. "But I loved him too, and I wanted to be changed, just to be with him." I caught Bella moving out of the corner of my eye and when I looked over, her face had softened. She looked... empathic? "What else did I have to lose? My husband was never at home, my family never visited and I didn't like any of my friends. Matthew was my light at the end of the tunnel. We prepared as best as we could. He warned me about what I would become; the thirst that I would feel, but he reassured me that he would be with me the entire way.

"And then, after a year of planning and sneaking around, we finally faked my suicide. I wrote a letter to Jason, my husband, telling him how unhappy I was and reassuring him that none of this was his fault. He wasn't a bad guy. He just wasn't the right guy for me." I sighed. I had followed Jason from afar for a year after my 'suicide'. He was distraught, as I had expected him to be. He had loved me, and had done everything he thought he was supposed to by supplying me with a beautiful house, food on the table, and expensive clothes to show off to all my friends. How could he have known how unhappy I was? I closed my eyes, shutting myself from the painful memory of Jason's broken spirit.

"Matthew and I then prepared for my newborn year. But it never came" I pushed on with my story. "I definitely felt the thirst, but I never wanted to kill another human being. In fact, I didn't even want to kill an animal to drink their blood. We never expected my will power to be so strong."

"Interesting" Carlisle said in a low voice, staring at me curiously. His eyes flicked over to Bella for a second, and then to Jasper, who seemed to have the same expression as Carlisle.

"What is it?" I asked. I looked around, and saw that one by one, the rest of the family were coming to the same conclusion.

"I sort of skipped over my newborn year as well" Bella spoke up when everyone else was silent, lost in their own thoughts.

"Really?" I asked, intrigued. "Matthew told me that it was near impossible, he was sure he had done something wrong when he changed me" I laughed lightly.

"Near impossible" Bella repeated. "But _not_ impossible."

"It's very interesting that both of you had time to prepare" Carlisle spoke up, his eyes still deep in thought.

"You don't think...?" Jasper started to ask, looking at Carlisle expectantly.

"It's very possible" Carlisle nodded slowly.

"Interesting" Edward breathed, staring at Carlisle as well. "We could never try..." he answered an unspoken thought of Carlisle's abruptly.

"Of course not" Carlisle shook his head. "Just a fleeting thought." Carlisle reassured him.

"Interesting" Jasper repeated the word.

"Boys" Alice interrupted their conversation. "This is definitely not the most interesting part of Sophia's story"

"Ah, I forgot, you can see the future" I smiled at her; amused that she thought what I was going to say next was the most interesting part of my story. I had always thought that meeting Matthew was the highlight of my life.

"She's just interested as to why you're future is so blurry" Edward answered my thoughts.

"My future is _blurry_?" I asked, almost in alarm that Alice couldn't really see my future, and partly because I didn't like the feeling that Edward was in my head.

"Not everything is clear" Alice admitted. "But tell the others your special gift and hopefully it might clear some things up"

"Well, I have a very powerful mind" I started. "The first thing that Matt and I found was that I could control what people saw, and how they perceived things. Which is why we were able to fit in so easily anywhere we go, nobody would see us as anything but two teenagers who were a little on the pale side. It was too much effort trying to make us tanned" I laughed bitterly.

"So nobody would feel how cold you were?" Emmett asked.

"Not so much" I shook my head. "It was a hard theory to test though"

"How did you test it?" Rosalie asked.

"Walking around in deserted areas, I would focus on one person, and will them to feel what I wanted her to feel, that we weren't cold. It seemed to be the easiest option" I shrugged. "She walked past in a hurry, and I bumped into her, making sure that I made skin contact. She didn't jump back at the touch of my skin, nor did she look shocked at the temperature of it, she just muttered a sorry and kept walking on.

"We then tried to do the same thing to Matthew. I found it took a lot more of my energy for people not to notice the temperature of his skin, but after a couple of tries, it had worked on him as well"

"That was very risky" Edward told me darkly.

"We were very safe" I reassured him. "We always tried at night, and acted like reckless teenagers so that we could say we had just swum in the cold ocean if they jumped back at the touch of Matt's skin, and they would never have questioned us."

"Still..." Edward trailed off, staring at me.

"Well it worked" I shrugged. "And nobody knew any better. As the years went by, my mind grew more powerful and pretty soon we were able to live amongst the humans as if we were one of them." I glanced quickly at Rosalie and gave her a small smile. "I was able to control what they were seeing to such a degree that anything that may have been strange about us was perfectly normal to them."

"But why could we see that you were a vampire straight away?" Rosalie asked.

"Because it seems that vampire minds are a lot more complex than human minds" I told them, and an amused murmur went through the room. "I can easily manipulate human minds to make them see what I want them to see. Vampires, seem to have a much larger mind, to take more things in, and so for me to manipulate any of your minds" I sighed at the thought of it, "It would take up a lot more energy! So it's just easier to make the humans see what I want them to see. That Matthew and I are just normal humans like them" I smiled.

"So why were majority of the thoughts I heard today revolved around you and your _exceptional_ beauty?" Edward asked his eyebrow was raised in question. I snuck a quick look at Rosalie, who was hiding a smirk behind her hand, but she looked at me knowingly.

"There are just some things that I couldn't give up" I told him simply, trying to keep the amusement out of my voice. I knew as I looked at her that Rosalie and I were laughing together on the inside. "But I'm more than happy to mask you guys as well. It won't take much energy" I reassured them.

"That's very kind of you, Sophia" Esme thanked me earnestly.

"That's very dangerous, you know" Jasper spoke up quietly, his eyes were deep in thought. "How about if someone like Bella came to the same town? How would you know that your secret was safe?"

"Someone like Bella?" I asked, looking at her in confusion.

"She's a shield" Alice explained. "Her mind is very well protected"

"And everyone else's mind around her if she gets angry enough" Emmett winked at her. "But only if you're on her good side, she can exclusively keep your mind out of her protection" he smiled mischievously.

"Meaning, if I had come into your town, then I would have known what was going on. I wouldn't have been fooled by what you wanted me to see" Bella explained to me.

"But you knew about them being vampires and you didn't say anything" I pointed out. She and Edward shot a quick, reproving glance at Rosalie before looking in my direction again.

"But how about if it was somebody else?" Bella asked. "Somebody who _would_ have run away screaming, spoiling your whole illusion"

"I didn't even know someone like that existed" I admitted.

"Well, now you have Edward here to help you" Alice suggested cheerfully. I was wondering if nothing ever fazed this tiny little girl.

"Thanks for offering my services" Edward growled at her, though he had a twinkle in his eyes. "But you also have Alice to look out for you as well"

"Uh-uh" Alice shook her head. "Sophia has too much of a hold onto this town that I can't get a proper reading."

"What?" Edward gasped.

"Nothing to get upset about" Alice rolled her eyes. "I can still see bits and pieces" she was staring off into the distance, "but it's like watching a television show with bad reception. Everything is fuzzy"

"Ah, I see" Edward nodded, no doubt looking into Alice's mind.

"You have a very interesting gift my dear" Carlisle told me, putting his hand on my arm in comfort, and maybe support. "Interesting and very powerful" he told me with some concern in his voice.

"Don't worry, Matthew and I have had too many years practise of this for us to get it wrong" I reassured him. "Though this whole idea of a person being a shield is something that we may have to rethink" I crinkled my nose in thought.

"When is Matthew coming back?" Esme asked kindly.

"Tomorrow night" I replied. "Oh, Eddie, he'll be so glad to see you again!" I exclaimed.

"That actually brings us to another question" Rosalie spoke up. She looked pointedly at Edward. "How do _you_ know Matthew? And more importantly, how come none of us know of him?"


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - Sophia  
**

"You were friends with her Matthew?" Esme spoke up. She looked just as shocked as everyone else was when they found out in the cafeteria earlier that day.

"I wouldn't exactly call us friends" Edward replied grimly. I took a step back shocked.

"But..." I stuttered. I looked at him in confusion. The way that Matthew spoke about Edward was always with fondness. Not with the dark face that Edward was wearing now.

"Sophia" He held up his hand to stop me from speaking. Or thinking. "I do like Matthew, just that he was in a period of my life that I would rather forget" he explained.

"But you helped" I told him, the confusion not ebbing away. "All those people that you saved"

"And how about all those people that I killed" Edward snapped back.

"What? The _murderers_? The _rapists_?" I gaped at him. How could he think that these people needed justice? The legal system has always been flawed.

"We are not above the legal system, Sophia" Edward pointedly told me.

"And so you would have let those poor people die in those streets alone?" I demanded.

"You sound so much like him" Edward growled. "Always trying to justify your actions" he shook his head. "We _killed _people, Sophia! I don't know what kind of heroic picture Matthew put in your head..."

"Oh, you know that what he shows me is the truth" I interrupted him.

"... But the bottom line is we killed people!" Edward continued. "We were cold blooded killers, Sophia!"

"That's what you are!" I said before I thought about it. The tension in the room became so thick I could feel it press in.

"We are not murderers..." Edward snarled at me.

"I didn't mean it like that..." I looked away, a little sheepishly. "I just meant that it's in our nature" I shrugged.

"Says the anorexic girl" Emmett commented, breaking the tension in the room.

"Listen, we need to head back home" Esme spoke up, giving me that warm smile again, despite the harsh things that I had just said about our kind. "Thank you for letting us into your home, Sophia, and if you ever want to come by, you are more than welcome to"

"Of course" Carlisle agreed, patting me on the shoulder reassuringly, as if what I had just said was reasonable. "You're always welcome in the Cullen household, especially seeing as you're doing us a big favour with agreeing to mask us" he smiled gratefully.

"Well I'm just glad that I have other people I can _really_ talk to" I replied. "As much as I love Matthew, I do like the company" I smiled at them all.

"We'll see you at home" Esme waved to the others, and her and Carlisle were gone.

"Bella love, I think we should call Nessie" Edward suggested, abruptly standing up. "See how her and Jacob are holding up"

"Sure" Bella nodded and stood up beside her husband.

"We'll see you later, Sophia" Edward said in a tight voice, hardly looking at me. I nodded grimly in reply.

"Thank you for sharing your story with us" Bella told me warmly. "And for masking us" she smiled.

"It's no problem at all" I reassured her. Bella led Edward out of the house, looking at him with concern.

"Don't worry about Ed" Emmett reassured me.

"He'll get over it" Alice waved her hand dismissively, though something in my head told me that Alice was too confident about her comment.

"So what do you normally do now?" Rosalie asked. "I mean when Matthew's not around? Big house all to yourself"

"Well I can show you around now?" I suggested. In fact it was times like these that I hated under normal circumstances. I would be alone in an empty house and I knew that I wouldn't have enough energy to mask the fact that Matthew wasn't around with my friends if I had invited them over, let alone act like a gracious host. But having the Cullen's' around made everything more exciting. "We have a massive library, a music room, an arts room, a sewing room, a clothes room..."

"A clothes room?" Alice's pixie face lit up.

"A room dedicated to all your clothes?" Rosalie looked at me, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. I couldn't help but notice that even with this blank look on her face, she still looked stunning.

"Would you like to see it?" I suggested, already knowing the answer.

"Well I really would love to" Emmett looked disappointed. "But Jasper and I forgot we had something to do"

"Maybe another time" Jasper suggested, and the two boys ran out of the house.

"Could not get out of here fast enough" Rosalie shook her head laughing.

"We have no boys anymore, why are we still down here?" Alice asked as she pushed me impatiently out of the living room.

"Wow" Alice and Rosalie breathed as they stood in the middle of my clothes room.

"That is..." Alice shook her head, unable to finish her sentence.

"Massive" Rosalie finished. They kept turning around and around, staring at my vast amount of clothing. Matt had fixed the room up for me so that every single piece of clothing was easily accessible without moving anything. Even the ceiling was fixed with hooks so that I could hang my jackets up there.

"These clothes don't have tags on them?" Alice inquired as she fingered through my dresses on one side of the wall.

"I made them" I told her, feeling a little proud.

"What?" Alice gaped at me. "These are beautiful Sophia!" she looked at my clothes in awe.

"Well, Matt and I don't really have that much money, and I have a lot of time on my hands, especially when Matt's not around" I laughed.

"This is gorgeous" Rosalie breathed as she picked out a flowing white dress and laid it out. It had a plunging neck line that went out wide to the shoulders near the edge of the full length sleeves that ended in a point. The skirt was long and made out of a satin material so that it flowed easily, with the back part considerably longer than the front, creating a train.

"That, I didn't make" I said quietly, fingering the cool satin. "It was my wedding dress." I told them.

"It's beautiful" Alice breathed. "It really suits you. Matt's a lucky man" she winked at me.

"Actually, that was my wedding dress when I got married to Jason" I corrected her sheepishly.

"Have you ever gotten married to Matt?" Rosalie asked.

"No" I shook my head. "Though he wants to"

"You don't?" Alice asked, wrinkling her tiny eyebrows in confusion.

"I do" I said quickly. "But to me, marriage is something that you share with your friends and family" I explained, looking back down at my wedding dress. "And seeing as all of our friends and family are dead..." I trailed off. I didn't want to continue. I knew that if I continued, I would open up the tiny Pandora's Box that I kept locked tight inside me. "Well this whole section is my human clothing" I pointed out the part where Rosalie had taken my wedding dress out of.

"40s clothes" Rosalie sighed. "Takes me back" she laughed as she lightly ran her fingers through them.

"Do you still wear them?" Alice asked.

"Not really" I admitted. "I keep them for sentimental reasons, and also because I'm sure the 40s fashion will come back someday!" I laughed.

"Wow, Sophia" Rosalie pulled out another dress. "You have some beautiful clothes!" she gushed.

"That one I actually made myself in sewing class" I told them. "My very first creation" I took the dress from Rosalie and held it up. It was a long peach chiffon dress, with a wrap around style at the top and a long flowing skirt reaching the floor. "This is what I wore for my graduation, the first time that I saw Matthew" I looked at the dress with fondness. It always reminded me of the angel standing under the tree.

"You really should get into the clothing industry" Alice suggested, moving on from my human clothes and onto my tops. "You will make money there definitely!"

"I'd buy your clothes!" Rosalie agreed, placing my wedding dress and my graduation dress back into its place. "Can I ask something?" she said as she stepped away from the clothes and folded herself to sit down in the middle of the room.

"Of course" I nodded, joining her.

"What did you mean when you said that what Matt _shows_ you is the truth?" Rosalie asked, staring at me curiously.

"Well, Matt has his own gifts as well" I explained. "He's able to speak to you through his mind"

"Like Nessie?" Alice joined us intrigued.

"Nessie does it by touching your face though doesn't she?" I asked and the two nodded in return. "Well he can do it with no contact. That's how I knew what Eddie looked like because he showed me scenes from his life back then"

"That's funny actually" Alice looked away thoughtfully, "Edward never mentioned being with someone else during that time"

"Well he wasn't with him the whole time" I explained. "Matt came and went as he pleased, but he really like Eddie so he kept going back, though I think it was more for company than anything else" I shrugged. "I'm surprised Eddie doesn't like Matt so much though" I shook my head.

"But Edward has more morals than probably anyone on this Earth" Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"I know" I nodded. "He's the reason Matt changed to become a vegetarian after they parted ways"


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 – Matthew (1929)  
**

I could see him. He was nothing like people would have imagined with his clean cut hair and business attire on. But his eyes were the giveaway. They were wild and bloodthirsty and totally focused on the petite girl ahead of him. I stalked him, staying in the darkest shadows of the night, though I knew it wasn't necessary.

I felt his approach and I tensed up. I knew who it was, and I knew that he wouldn't harm me. Not yet anyway. I thought to him, '_He's mine_' and slowly slinked my way towards the businessman.

"Don't do it" a whisper came from right behind me. I was so focused on capturing this man that I didn't notice the one that had crept up on me.

'_And why not?_' I asked him through my thoughts.

"Because you're doing it for all the wrong reasons" He replied and placed one firm hand on my arm. I tried to shake it off but it wouldn't budge. I knew that he had a point, he always had a point, and he was always there to lead me into the right direction. But was it really the right direction?

"I know you, and I know that you can do much better than this" he answered my unsaid thought. I didn't even say it aloud, but I knew better than to be surprised.

'_And how about the girl?_' I asked my eyes still in her direction. She looked so small, so fragile, so _human_.

"She'll be fine" he reassured me. "She won't feel a thing" he told me, and ran past me. Before I could react he had jumped on the unsuspecting human and cracked its neck easily as if it had been a twig. He looked back in my direction with his burgundy coloured eyes and threw the body in my direction. "Eat"


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 – Sophia**

"Hey!" Rosalie greeted me as I opened the door in the morning. "Thought you might like some company to school today" she smiled kindly and indicated Emmett and Jasper standing behind her.

"Hey guys" I waved at them. I was glad that they were there, when Rosalie and Alice finally left last night, I felt the loneliness creeping in on me that I retreated to the library and buried myself in the Oxford Latin Dictionary, brushing up on my language skills. I had just finished reading it and gotten changed into denim shorts and a simple V neck sleeveless shirt.

"Wow, Sophia, showing some skin!" Emmett whistled at my appearance. I noticed that they were all wearing long sleeved tops and jeans, even though it was going to be a cloudy but humid day.

"Don't you guys have anything," I searched for the word. "Shorter?"

"Well even if it is cloudy like today, there's no harm in playing it safe" Jasper shrugged.

"But now, you have me" I pointedly told them. "No matter how cloudy or sunny it is, always dress appropriately!" I winked at them as I turned around and went back into the house. "Come on Rosalie, we'll find something for you so that Emmett can whistle at you as well"

"Make sure she wears something that nobody else whistles at her!" Emmett called back after us. Luckily, Rosalie was a similar height and build to me, and my personalised clothing fit her perfectly.

"Are you sure I'm allowed to borrow this?" Rosalie asked, indicating the mini skirt and tank top she was wearing.

"Of course!" I waved my hand dismissively. "You look gorgeous! Not that you didn't before" I winked at her.

"Thank you!" Rosalie smiled at me gratefully. "It feels so good to be able to wear something other than long sleeved tops and sweaters to school!"

"Well you're welcome to my wardrobe anytime!" I offered her. "And if you want I can make you some clothes myself, something that is more suited to you"

"I might just take you up on that offer" Rosalie winked as we flew back down the stairs to join up with the boys.

"Sophia" Emmett groaned, staring at his beautiful girl. "Do you _want_ me to kill some poor unsuspecting boy today?"

"C'mon big boy" Rosalie rolled her eyes as we both laughed at him.

"So where's Alice?" I asked Jasper as we stepped into Rosalie's red convertible. He knew that I included Bella and Edward in my question, but he replied calmly.

"She's going with Bella and Edward today" Jasper answered.

"Ed's still a little miffed about your fight yesterday" Emmett turned around and explained as Rosalie sped down the street.

"Doesn't understand why you're trying to justify him killing another human being" Jasper added.

"You know that I didn't mean we should be killing people" I told them. "It just came out all wrong"

"Don't worry, Sophia" Emmett waved his hand dismissively at me. "Ed'll get over it once he realises that you're the one who doesn't kill _anything_"

"Which is what I've been meaning to ask" Rosalie asked curiously. "Do you ever drink? I mean, you would be so weak if you don't actually consume anything"

"Well when I can, we steal from the blood bank" I admitted sheepishly. "Definitely not one of my favourite traits, but I don't usually feel the need to drink blood that often" I smiled at them grimly.

"Mind power?" Emmett asked with a mischievous smile.

"I guess so" I shrugged.

"Can I ask" Jasper turned to me inquisitively. "How prepared were you about changing?"

"Well..." I wasn't expecting that question, so I thought it over for a bit. "I guess you could say that I was very well prepared?" I shrugged. "Is that the right answer?"

"There is no wrong or right answer" Jasper laughed.

"Well Matt told me what to expect, the thirst, the physical changes, the abilities that I would acquire. Though we didn't see my gift coming" I laughed. "We had about a year to prepare for it; Matt wanted to make sure that he would be able to control me once I was changed"

"And you never felt the thirst burning your throat so badly that you reacted on instinct?" Jasper asked.

"Well of course I felt the burning thirst" I replied. I could still feel the burning at the back of my throat, especially now that we were entering the school and humans were milling around everywhere. "But I refused to let myself become something I didn't want it to be. I guess I had a lot of practise in my human years though" I laughed bitterly. "I guess I'm just never meant to fit in anywhere!"

"You fit in pretty well here" Rosalie offered me her arm. I linked mine around hers and we walked into the school arm in arm, noticing every single person notice us as we walked past.

"Well hopefully you do too" I smiled at her.

We had arrived at school just in time for the first bell to ring so we separated our own ways and went to our first class. As soon as I walked into my History class, Gabby and Nina pounced on me.

"Tell us everything!" Gabby pleaded, leading me to my seat. Of course I hadn't masked the fact that I had arrived at school with Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper. It was going to be much too much fun to miss.

"What do you mean?" I feigned innocence.

"Come on, Soph" Nina rolled her eyes. "_Everyone_ saw you walking in with the new family!"

"So are they cool?" Gabby asked eagerly.

"Of course" I told her.

"So is everything that was said about their family true?" Nina asked.

"They are all adopted except Eddie, their father is a doctor" I confirmed.

"And they're all... You know..." Gabby put her two index fingers together. "Together?"

"Rosalie and Emmett are together, they're the ones in our year. Jasper, the blonde one, Rosalie's twin, is Alice's boyfriend, she's the little one in the year below, and Edward and Bella are with each other" I explained.

"That is _so_ weird" Nina shook her head.

"Sure" I shrugged.

"And did I actually see Rosalie wearing your tank top?" Gabby asked. Damn, I knew there was something that I forgot to mask.

"Yeah" I nodded. "She came over yesterday and I let her borrow it" I shrugged. At that moment the teacher came in and started the class, so we weren't able to talk until the end of class.

"I heard Rosalie and Emmett are in your Math class" Nina said as we gathered up our things from the desk.

"You heard that from Dan?" I laughed.

"He was crushed" Gabby nodded, laughing along. "You should have seen his face when he came out of school!"

"He was white as a ghost!" Nina agreed. "That Emmett must have had one scary stare!" she laughed.

"Oh, he's a sweetie" I defended him. "But he's _very_ in love with Rosalie"

"You can tell" Gabby nudged me as she noticed we were walking towards the couple.

"Hey Sophia!" Emmett waved, his smile indicating that he heard our conversation and was very pleased with the reaction he got out of Dan.

"Hey Em" I waved back, silently laughing as they walked up to us.

"So I was thinking" Rosalie said as she slid her arm through mine. "That this afternoon, we go out shopping. I need to buy new clothes" she winked at me.

"I'm definitely up for it" I agreed, though I knew that I couldn't buy anything.

"Do you two girls want to come?" Rosalie asked, swinging her head around me so she could look at the two girls, looking like an ad for a shampoo as her blonde hair swung around.

"Uhh..." Gabby stuttered.

"Sure" Nina said for the both of them.

"Great" Rosalie smiled at them. "Humans are fun" she whispered so fast and so low that only I could hear, and we both squealed with amusement. "I'll meet you at lunch" she winked at me and unlinked her arm, replacing it on Emmett's waist who had his arm around her shoulders in an instant.

"Catch ya later, Soph" Emmett winked and walked off with Rosalie.

"She is so gorgeous!" Gabby squealed.

"Do you think she could help me pick out a dress for my date tonight?" Nina asked.

"You have a date?" I turned around, staring at my friend in surprise.

"Well..." Nina blushed, and I knew that she had been dying to let it out since the start of school, but the Cullen family had taken precedence.

"C'mon, Nina, spit it out!" Gabby encouraged her as we walked into our next classroom.

"Kyle asked me out last night" Nina told us quickly, sitting down and hiding her face behind her hair.

"No way!" Gabby squealed.

"You did say yes didn't you?" I asked her, though I already knew the answer. I could hear every heightened heart beat that the two had shared; I could smell every blush that Nina experienced every time Kyle had accidentally brushed her hand.

"Of course" Nina laughed.

"So how did he do it?" Gabby asked excitedly, pulling her chair in so that she could sit closer to our table. Nina started giving a play by play of the conversation her and Kyle had last night when something caught my eye out of the window. It had looked like a flash of light brown hair, a slim body running from shadow to shadow outside in the school yard. I looked closer, unsure of what I was seeing; it couldn't possibly be true could it? But when I looked again, the school yard was clear and there was no sign of anything except the slight wind picking up the leaves of the trees.

I knew my imagination could run wild, especially with Matthew not around. But what I had seen out there in the school yard, it couldn't have been...

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts and focused entirely on our teacher who had walked in and had already started class. Every now and then, I glanced out of the window, but I saw nothing until class had ended and we were walking out of the classroom. Gabby and Nina went their separate ways as soon as we walked out of the door and I met up with Dan for our next class together. As we walked through the school yard, a movement in the shadows of a tree somewhere a distance from the school grounds caught my attention and I quickly glanced over.

The red eyes stared at me so intently that I almost stopped still in my tracks. My mind was racing a million miles a minute, what I was seeing was impossible, yet it was right there in front of me.

"Sophia?" a voice called out and in the one second that it took for me to break his glance, he disappeared. "Are you ok?" Bella and Eddie came walking up towards us, Bella looking concerned and Eddie looking slightly annoyed.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I smiled brightly. "Bella, Eddie, this is Dan" I introduced my friend next to me who hadn't even noticed my break in concentration.

"Hey" Dan waved at them, then looked away, fidgeting. I supposed that he hadn't fully recovered from Emmett's stare down yesterday and I suppressed a laugh.

"I heard that you and Rosie are going shopping this afternoon" Bella said. At the mention of Rosalie's name, I could hear Dan's heartbeat quicken, just for a second. Edward stared at him, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, we're taking Gabby and Nina with us" I confirmed. "Do you want to come as well?" I asked her.

"I would love to" Bella replied, though I could see that she really did not mean it. "But Edward and I decided to have a quiet night in" she glanced quickly up at him, who was now staring at me curiously. I stared back at him, wondering if he was reading my mind. A slight twitch of his mouth confirmed my question. I narrowed my eyes at him; I didn't like him in my head, so I tried to clear all of my thoughts, blocking them from his penetrating eyes. Only a couple of seconds had passed when his eyes widened in surprise.

"That's nice" I said to Bella, knowing that Eddie couldn't get into my mind now that I had cleared it. "Did you want to ask something, Eddie?" I asked him, smiling innocently as his eyes narrowed in frustration. "Something on your mind?"

"Not at all" Eddie replied shortly. Bella looked between us with confusion.

"Well, we better go, don't want to be late for class" Bella told me and led Eddie away.

"What was up with him?" Dan asked as we walked away.

"No idea" I shrugged, letting it slide past and pretty soon, Dan was quizzing me on the shopping trip I had planned with Rosalie and the other girls.

The rest of the day went by quickly. I never saw those red eyes again, though at times I caught myself glancing out of the window, searching, but I never saw anything out of the usual. The Cullen's sat at our table at lunch, Eddie, Jasper and Emmett on one side of the table, Rosalie, Alice and Bella joining in with Gabby and Dan whilst Kyle and Nina kept whispering to each other when they thought nobody else was listening. Of course, we picked up on everything and every now and then, Rosalie and I looked at each other and shared a silent moment of amusement at their blossoming relationship.

The majority of the lunch time Alice was trying to convince Bella to come shopping with us, and very reluctantly, she had finally agreed to go, with a quick glance at Eddie. I had made sure that my mind was clear before I sat at our lunch table and he was staring at me both with curiosity and frustration. And just because, I sent flashes of innocent smiles his way every now and then, increasing his frustration with me.

"You really shouldn't do that" Alice told me quietly as we exited the cafeteria.

"Do what?" I asked, though I was pretty sure I knew what she meant.

"Edward is a nice guy" she told me. "And I love him to bits, which is why the things he has planned for you..." she shook her head.

"He won't touch me" I rolled my eyes.

"Don't tempt him" Alice warned. "He has amazing will power, and right now my visions are still fuzzy, so I know that he won't act on any of them. But please don't let this end in blood shed" she smiled grimly. "Excusing the pun"

"I'll try" I sighed. I did like Alice. In fact I liked all the Cullen's, even Eddie until we had the fight the night before. Now, I just liked to see Eddie frustrated.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 - Sophia  
**

"Ok, so where do we want to start?" Alice asked as we entered the only shopping centre in our tiny little town.

"Well where is Kyle taking you tonight?" I asked Nina.

"Out to dinner at the restaurant down by the beach" Nina replied, a slight blush reddening her cheeks.

"Wow" Gabby whistled. "Fancy"

"Yeah" Nina shrugged, smiling despite herself.

"Ok, so we need to get you something that is elegant, but can be worn at the beach without getting wrecked" Alice turned to business straight away.

"So let's start at the summer dresses" Rosalie suggested, leading the way, even though she had never been in the shopping centre before. I quickly walked up with her so that I didn't have to mask that particular fact. We headed off towards a shop selling summer dresses and walked in. Alice got to work straight away, picking out clothes that matched Nina's blue eyes, or her red hair, or her fair complexion. Pretty soon, Nina was laden with clothes to try on and Alice quickly pushed her into the dressing room.

"We really need to get you a life-sized doll" Bella commented. "First me and now Nina" she shook her head.

"Well at least Nina doesn't complain so much" Alice grumbled, though her eyes sparkled at Bella.

Nina finally decided on a white strapless dress that flowed just above her knees. It was simple, but very effective in a beach setting.

"Now we need accessories" Alice announced.

"Oh, I have jewellery at home" Nina shook her head. "And shoes and a bag that match this dress perfectly"

"Just when I thought you were going to be easy" Alice sighed.

"Come on, Alice" Rosalie took her by the arm. "Stop playing with your dolls and start buying clothes for us!" she said, seeming to cheer Alice up a great deal. We walked around the shops for awhile, Alice and Rosalie buying the majority of items, Gabby and Nina buying a few things here and there, and Bella and I commenting on their outfits, not buying anything.

"Oh, I have to go!" Nina suddenly exclaimed, glancing at her watch. It was almost six o'clock and Kyle was picking her up at 7:30. "Thank you for everything!" she said, wrapping her arms around Rosalie's neck first. Rosalie seemed to stiffen for a split second, this was the first time that anybody had touched her like that and I guess it was second nature for her to get frightened at the touch of such warm skin like Nina's. But I had the mask on, and I knew that all Nina felt was that Rosalie was a tad cooler than she was.

"It was no problem" Rosalie smiled at her, still reeling from the shock that Nina hadn't run away screaming as she turned around and hugged Alice, who promptly hugged her back, and Bella who seemed to stiffen slightly at the touch.

"I better go too, mum needs me to cook dinner tonight" Gabby grumbled. "I'll see you guys at school" she waved as her and Nina walked off.

"C'mon Bella" Alice took her hand. "I see that you've bought nothing"

"Alice..." Bella started, though her voice was already defeated.

"Rosie, Sophia, do you want to join?" Alice asked, already leading Bella back towards the shops.

"It's just too depressing seeing Bella getting dressed by you" Rosalie laughed as Alice pouted.

"I'll catch it next time" I told her as Bella gave us a desperate look before being dragged away. "Poor, poor Bella"

"But Alice is right, that girl does _not_ know how to accessorise" Rosalie shook her head.

"So what do you want to do now?" I asked.

"Might have to drop these off home first" Rosalie indicated the massive amounts of shopping bags that she had accumulated. "Would you like to see our house?" she offered. Of course, I agreed.

As soon as we were out of the shopping centre, we ran all the way back to the Cullen's house, laughing and enjoying the way the wind whipped our hair. The house was just on the border of the town, out of the way from any part of the main part of town.

It looked like every other house in our town, two storeys high and was painted white. But unlike every other house in our town, its back wall was made of glass, allowing me to see straight inside.

"Wow" I breathed, slowing down.

"Yeah" Rosalie looked up at her house. "We do like our views"

"I wish my house had glass as a back wall" I told her. "Then again, all I would be seeing would be old Mr Hodge's backyard, and trust me it's not something you would want to see!" I laughed as we approached the back wall.

"My windows open" Rosalie pointed up to a room on the far left. She bent her knees and jumped gracefully towards the large open window, and landed on the window sill, balanced lightly in between. "Come on" she invited me, and I followed her, landing next to her on the windowsill.

"Lucky you have a big window" I laughed, sitting down and leaning against the side of the window.

"Well usually Emmett and I have to fit through there" Rosalie admitted, landing lightly, her feet sinking comfortably into the white carpet covering her room. I looked over her room as she quickly packed away her newly bought clothes. A larger than king sized bed dominated the room, four black posts on each of the corners of the bed holding up a thin sheet which fell down like curtains. There was a large door opposite the window I was sitting on, where Rosalie had disappeared with her shopping bags. I guessed it was a walk in wardrobe, judging by the smell emanating from the open door. I jumped down and my feet also sunk into the carpet. It was definitely comfortable! I walked over to the wardrobe and took a look inside.

"It's not as big as yours, but I think I may have more clothes" Rosalie said without turning around. She definitely had more clothes, they were packed into drawers and hanging from clothes hangers in almost every space available in the room. The only room was the path leading through the vast amounts of clothes.

"Does Emmett have anything in here for himself?" I asked, looking around and noticing that they were all girls' clothes.

"Of course" Rosalie indicated a tiny portion on the far wall that was packed with folded jeans, and shirts.

"That's even smaller than Matt's portion" I laughed.

"Well maybe I might have to just steal some of his closet space" Emmett appeared behind me. "How was shopping?"

"Bought you a shirt" Rosalie called out from inside the wardrobe. "It's sitting on the bed"

"Thank you beautiful!" Emmett walked over to the bed where a blue shirt was neatly folded and placed on the bed. "Just my style" he picked it up and held it up for inspection. "And what did you get, Soph?" he asked me.

"Nothing" I held up my empty hands. "I don't have the money to spend" I admitted.

"And she wouldn't take any from us" Rosalie finally emerged from the wardrobe.

"Of course not!" I exclaimed. She and Alice had already offered to buy some clothes several times in the shops before Bella saved me and told them to back off. "Remember, I make pretty good ones of my own"

"That's true" Rosalie agreed. She flew up into Emmett's arms and kissed him passionately. I averted my eyes, just to give them some privacy, which they obviously didn't care about. "So Soph, would you like the grand tour of the house?" Rosalie asked, breaking away from her boy.

"Of course" I nodded my head. Emmett trailed along on Rosalie's grand tour of the Cullen house, making snide comments on little things here and there. As we came down the stairs, I saw that Jasper and Edward were sitting on the couch in front of a wide screen TV, though it looked like neither of them were watching it. I immediately cleared my mind so that Edward couldn't get in there, though I knew that he would've heard some things from upstairs.

"Why must you do that?" Edward asked in frustration. At first I had thought he was talking to Jasper, but when I looked over, he was focused straight at me.

"Do what?" I asked, feigning innocence.

"Clear your mind" Edward replied shortly. "It gives me a headache"

"Well I don't like you _in_ my mind, so take an aspirin" I told him and walked away with Rosalie.

"He can't get in your mind?" Rosalie asked as we walked through the kitchen which would never be used.

"Nah, I've cleared it so that he thinks I'm thinking nothing" I told her. "It takes a little bit of energy, especially because Edward's a vampire and all, but I really don't like him in my head, answering my unsaid questions"

"Welcome to our world" Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"I can still hear _you_!" Edward shouted from the couch.

"Well then get out of my head!" Rosalie shouted back.

"I am out of your head, your voice however..." Edward trailed off.

"Oh go kill a lion" Rosalie dismissed him.

"Rosalie, Edward" Esme's voice floated down from upstairs, warning the two like she was their mother.

"I'll show you the cars" Rosalie told me and led me through the kitchen and into another door that led out into the largest garage I had ever seen. "We had to do some renovations to the house to fit everything in" she explained, indicating the cars that occupied the space.

"So you renovate the garage to fit your cars, but you don't renovate your wardrobe to fit your clothes?" I asked amused.

"Clothes you can squish and fold and manipulate anyway you can" Rosalie replied. "And plus, I can throw out any of the ones that I don't wear anymore, making more room. But cars..." she trailed off, running her hand down the smooth hood of a red Ferrari. "They need their space" she said almost reverently.

"I take it your into cars" I asked, amused at the look on her face.

"She's obsessed with cars" Emmett corrected me. He was still standing in the doorway looking at us.

"It's something to do" Rosalie shrugged. "But this is Bella's car. Edward bought it for her as a wedding present"

"Wow" I whistled. I knew very little about cars, but I knew that a Ferrari was an impressive one.

"The Jeep Wrangler is mine" Emmett pointed proudly to a monster of a car, if you could even call it a car!

"Suits you" I told him simply, looking at the monstrous thing.

"Those two are Edward's cars" Rosalie pointed to a silver Volvo and a sleek, black Aston Martin.

"Why does he get two?" I asked.

"Because I can" Edward told us, still on the couch.

"Stop listening in!" Rosalie hissed.

"Stop talking so loud!" Edward shot back.

"Kids!" Esme called out.

"Carlisle's car is missing, he must be at the hospital" Rosalie commented on the empty space next to Edward's cars. "That one Edward got Alice as a thank you present" Rosalie smiled at some unknown personal memory as she pointed out the last car, a yellow Porsche.

"Pretty" I commented "Edward likes giving cars as presents doesn't he?"

"Well what better way to say I love you, than with a brand spanking new car?" Emmett laughed from the doorway.

"So what do you think it would take for Edward to buy _me_ a car?" I asked Emmett, knowing full well that Edward and Jasper were still listening in on our conversation in the garage.

"Open up your mind and stop giving me a headache!" Edward answered my question.

"Stop listening in or I'll give you a _real _headache!" Rosalie threatened.

"You kids are giving me a headache!" Esme's exasperated voice exclaimed.

* * *

I was in a light mood as I ran back home, but as soon as I walked through my front door, I knew something wasn't quite right. The lights weren't turned on and everything was just as I had left it. Panic started setting in as I ran around the house, searching for the one thing that would make it alright. My shining light, my guiding star, the reason that I was here today. Then it slowly sunk in as I came full circle and ended up back at the open front door.

My angel was missing.

And before I thought about what I was doing, I channelled all the strength I could muster, hoping that he could hear me from the distance, I wasn't too sure how his gift worked, and thought as loudly as I could, "_Eddie!_"


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 - Sophia  
**

"Sophia, would you like me to get you anything?" Esme's kind voice asked me. I shook my head, barely realising she was there. I felt numb from the shock, though my mind was still going a million miles a minute. I knew that with everything going on, I had to keep my mind going.

"C'mon, Soph" Rosalie gently pulled me up from the seat I was sitting in and led me up the stairs and into the bedroom. I could vaguely hear quiet talking down in the living room. The Cullen's had arrived only minutes after my desperate plea to Edward and it took awhile for them to realise what had happened.

"You all think I'm overreacting don't you?" I asked as Rosalie set me down on the bed.

"Of course we don't" Rosalie answered, though not convincingly.

"Rosie" I turned to her, my eyes pleading for her to believe me. "This is _very_ unusual behaviour for Matt. He goes hunting for two days, and two days only. He comes home as soon as the sun has fallen."

"Maybe he saw that you weren't at home and went out to find you?" Rosalie suggested.

"No, there's no scent of him anywhere in the house" I shook my head fervently. "Nothing's been moved, the house was as it was when I left it this morning" I told her.

"Soph..." she started, her voice soothing me, but I was desperate for her to understand me.

"Rosie, please" I put my hand up to stop her. "You have to believe me on this. Matt is the one thing in my life that I know I can depend on. If he doesn't come back after two days of hunting, then something is wrong. I can feel it in my bones, I _know_ that he's in trouble" I whispered, a buzzing sound starting in my head and I could feel the hysterics starting to set in.

"Soph..." Rosalie started again.

"You have to believe me, Rosie" I pleaded. "You just have to"

"I believe you" Rosalie reassured me, putting a soothing hand on my shoulder, but something in the tone of her voice made her sound desperate. I looked at her in confusion. "Jasper" she called out, and in less than a second, Jasper was standing in the doorway followed by Emmett.

"Sophia" Jasper said in a much more soothing tone than Rosalie. "You need to calm down" he told me, his voice washing over me like a warm blanket.

"But..." I stammered and I felt my head go cloudy. "Matt's not here" I said.

"I know" Jasper nodded his head. "It will all be ok, Carlisle and Edward have gone to try and pick up his scent" his words felt thick on my ears, and I could feel the panicking feeling leave my body. The buzzing in my head stopped and was replaced by a warm mist.

"Jasper" Alice appeared at the doorway with Bella behind her. "I think you're overdoing it a little" she gently told him.

"Sorry" Jasper replied, and suddenly the warm mist was gone from my head, leaving it clear as a bell.

"What...?" I looked at the faces around me in confusion.

"Soph, did you hear a buzzing in your head a second ago?" Rosalie asked me intently, her hand still resting reassuringly on my shoulder. I nodded slowly, wondering how they knew.

"Apparently, if your mind buzzes, so does everything else around you" Alice told me calmly.

"Everything was..." I looked at her in confusion. "Buzzing?"

"We're not sure who else might have heard it, but this house was definitely buzzing" Alice confirmed with a nod.

"And became a little foggy as well" Rosalie smiled grimly.

"Sorry, that was my fault" Jasper admitted sheepishly. "I didn't think that fogging up your mind would cause such a catastrophe"

"I didn't realise that either" I shook my head in disbelief.

"Soph" Rosalie said gently. "Edward and Carlisle are out looking for him as we speak"

"So you don't think I'm over reacting?" I looked at her, hopeful.

"Nobody thinks your over reacting, sweetie" Esme appeared behind Bella and came up to sit on the other side of me. "If anything like that happened to any of our partners..." she didn't need to finish off her sentence. I saw Alice and Jasper look meaningfully at each other, and Emmett walked over to Rosalie, giving her free hand a loving squeeze. "If you think that something bad has happened to Matt, then we believe you" Esme reassured me and everyone else in my room nodded in agreement.

"Are you able to see anything, Alice?" Rosalie asked and I couldn't help but look up hopefully at her.

"Sorry" Alice shook her head. "Everything that revolves around this town is still cloudy" she looked dejected.

"Thanks for trying, Alice" I told her earnestly, smiling gratefully. "Thank you everyone actually" I looked at them all. "But you don't have to stay here" I told them. I didn't like that two of their family were already out looking for Matt, and now they all had to stay here looking after the pathetic vampire.

"We don't mind" Esme reassured me.

"No" I shook my head. "Go home, do what you usually do. I will be fine here, I just need some time to myself" I told them, though I knew they didn't believe me as they cast doubtful looks towards each other. "Please?" I asked desperately.

"Well just give us a call and we'll come over straight away" Esme agreed reluctantly, pulling out a silver mobile from her pocket and handing it to me.

"Thanks" I replied as I looked at the phone in my hand, afraid to look at anyone else in the eye in case I broke down. I did need time to myself, but at the same time I wasn't sure if I really wanted the others to go.

"It will all be ok, Soph" Bella said quietly before following Esme, Alice and Jasper out of the room.

"Thanks" I smiled grimly at her.

"Are you sure you don't want us to stay?" Rosalie asked tentatively.

"I don't need to be babysat" I replied, smiling lightly, hoping that my eyes wouldn't give away the turmoil that was going on inside.

"Well, I was actually wondering if we could borrow your TV tonight?" Emmett asked to my total surprise. "Alice and Bella always want to watch their girly TV shows, and I need a change tonight" I looked at him with my mouth wide open in shock.

"Of course" I managed to stammer out.

"We'll be in the living room" Rosalie squeezed my shoulder reassuringly and left the room with Emmett, who called out a hearty "Thanks"

I sat on my bed dumbfounded at what had just happened. I didn't even know this family for more than 2 days, and yet the support that they had just shown me was overwhelming, especially on Rosalie and Emmett's part. I couldn't believe that in such a short period of time, I had found a best friend in Rosalie, a big brother in Emmett, parental figures in Carlisle and Esme, and love from everyone else. Except Eddie, who was currently out looking for a guy that he apparently loathed.

Sometime during the night, I had moved from my bedroom into the library. It was my favourite place of the house, with a large couch in the middle of the room, just big enough for two people to sit on comfortably. I had curled up on the couch, sinking into the cushion, staring out the large window that overlooked the street. I had all the lights off so that people couldn't see in, though the lack of light didn't affect my vision and I could see the expanse of my town clearly.

I sat there watching the world around me sleep, contemplating on where my angel could have gone. It took everything I had to not jump out the window and find him right then and there, but I knew the consequences that would occur if I did. So I stayed on my couch that I usually shared with Matt, wrapped up in his arms and reading a book or just content with talking. I closed my eyes and imagined he was curled around me, his arms wrapped tightly around me, his voice whispering to me in his warm, comforting voice, telling me everything was ok. I breathed in, half expecting his smell to fill my senses, but my dreams plummeted as the only thing I smelt was the couch. I opened my eyes reluctantly and went back to staring out of the window aimlessly.

A soft knock on the door alerted me that someone was there. I hadn't even heard them come up the stairs. I turned my head slightly to see who it was. The door opened softly and Rosalie's blonde hair appeared.

"Hey" she smiled gently at me. "Can I come in?" she asked.

"Of course" I nodded, sitting up so that she could sit by me on the couch.

"Just wanted to see how you were holding up" Rosalie walked over and sat comfortably on the couch as I pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. "There was no buzzing or fog, so I knew it wasn't too serious" she said, trying to lighten the mood and I smiled despite myself.

"Thanks" I told her. "For everything"

"It's no problem" Rosalie waved the comment away. "I should really be the one thanking you" she said quietly.

"Why?" I asked her, curious.

"You brought some colour in my otherwise dreary life" Rosalie admitted. "Something that made me actually like the life we live"

"You have Emmett?" I pointed out.

"He's the other thing that's keeping me grounded" Rosalie nodded. "I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't found Emmett that day" she shook her head. "I probably wouldn't be here today" she said quietly.

"I know I definitely wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Matt" I told her, leaning my head against her shoulder. "Literally" I added.

"You could very well still be alive with grandchildren right now" Rosalie pointed out.

"I can just picture it right now" I laughed bitterly. "Little Jason's running around the house, that would have been a nightmare!"

"You don't want kids?" Rosalie asked in astonishment.

"I do" I said. "Well, I did" I corrected myself hastily. "But not with Jason"

"With Matt" Rosalie finished for me and I nodded. "Did you ever love Jason?" she asked me quietly.

"Yes..." I thought about it. "And no. It was arranged by our parents to be married when we were still little, so he was all I ever knew. I loved him because I had been taught to love our husbands. Or future husbands in my case" I sighed. "Then I found Matt, and at that moment, I knew what love was supposed to feel like" I stared out into the street as Rosalie started to absent-mindedly stroke my hair.

"Like your soaring through the air and nothing else mattered" Rosalie muttered, and I knew she was staring out into the world as well.

"If I could have done anything differently so that I didn't have to hurt Jason as much as I did, then it would have been done" I looked down at my knees. "I followed him after my 'suicide'" Rosalie started by my confession. "He never saw me, and I made sure I kept my distance. He never married again, and died a year later" I said softly, recalling the memory, clearer than I would have liked it to be. "He had thrown himself into his work, thinking that he was to blame despite my attempts to convince him otherwise. He became a shadow of his former self and died peacefully in his sleep one night. The doctors were puzzled, they put it down to depression" I sighed. "But he was more than depressed, he was broken." I whispered. "I hadn't realised how much he loved me until it was too late. You always think that loving someone who doesn't love you is painful. But having someone love you, who you cannot love back, the way that he deserves it," I closed my eyes. "It's more painful than being changed" I said quietly, opening my eyes and turned to gaze at Rosalie's face. "Rosie?" I asked, staring in alarm at her distraught face. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing" Rosalie responded angrily. "Sometimes I wish we could just cry, let out everything that's pent up inside" she laughed bitterly and looked down at me. "I was almost married before I became..." she indicated her perfect body. "But he and his friends almost killed me" she said bitterly. "I was so angry at them that I had picked them off, one by one, just like flies" I gasped in shock. Rosalie had murdered men? Her fiancé? "I always wondered, what my life would have been like if my husband actually loved me. Ours was pretty much forced, though I didn't have to be forced so much" she told me. "I came from a middle class family, and so this marriage would have brought my family up there" she held her hand over her head and laughed bitterly. "I don't think I ever loved him truly, and the feeling was reciprocated."

"So why do you hate this life so much?" I asked. She looked at me in surprise. "Rosie, it's not so hard to see. I remember when I saw you in the cafeteria, you had on an 'anywhere but here' look. And the first time we spoke, you sounded so bitter about your life. But if your human life was so upsetting then why are you so opposed to the one thing that lets you run away from it?"

"We're stuck, Soph" she sighed. "We're stuck in these bodies, and as much as I say I like _looking _like this, we're never going to grow any older" I suddenly understood what she was trying to say, and I went quiet, looking back out of the window, her words sinking into my head. "You know I really should be hating you right now" she admitted.

"Why?" I asked in astonishment. I had no idea what I had done wrong. Maybe I should never have confided in her about Jason.

"Because you made the wrong choice" Rosalie closed her eyes. "You chose a life of immortality instead of a life of mortality, growing old, having children, a family, a normal life" she looked at me with sadness.

"Mine wasn't a choice of a life of immortality or mortality" I corrected her. "Mine was a choice of Jason or Matt. A life with someone who loves me, or a life with someone I love. And I guess I was very selfish in my decision, so you do have good reason to hate me for that" I shrugged.

"When you put it that way, I probably would have done the same thing" Rosalie admitted. "If it wasn't for the immortality thing" she added.

"But you don't hate me" I said.

"No" Rosalie smiled at me. "You manage to still retain some of the normalcy that I crave, and you let me into your world." She told me honestly. "Plus I feel comfortable with you. It does get lonely having 8 vampires around you and a werewolf that keeps coming up with blonde jokes" she shook her head.

"Sounds like a party to me" I laughed.

"Yeah, if you can talk to any of them" Rosalie nodded, her eyes revealing a trace of grief in them. "Emmett has been the only one that I have ever been able to talk to. Alice and Bella are always off together, or they're with Edward and Jasper. The few moments I get alone with Nessie are blissful, but often Jacob is there with her" she scowled. "I love them all no doubt" she reassured me. "But you come, and now I feel like I have someone of my own to confide in. Someone who's not a boy" she laughed then her face turned serious again. "I know that it's very childish to say, but with Alice and Bella being so tight, sometimes I just feel left out"

"It's not childish" I reassured her. I knew that I would definitely feel like the third wheel if there was nobody else to talk to.

"They're just so suited to each other, and I didn't really like Bella from the beginning" Rosalie admitted. "I could never understand her and her actions" she shook her head. "Which is very weird, seeing as you both come from very similar situations"

"We do?" I looked at her in surprise.

"That's Bella's story" Rosalie said. "And I won't taint it with my version" she smiled grimly. "But I am glad that I met you here" she told me and I smiled back up at her.

"Right back at you" I replied. "Besides Matt, I haven't had contact with any other vampire, he's extremely over protective"

"I think it must be a trait of all male vampires" Rosalie laughed.

"Or just ones that were born before chivalry became dead" I pointed out and we both laughed.

"Rosie, can I ask you something?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"Of course" Rosalie nodded.

"If you had a choice between Emmett and mortality..." I trailed off, suddenly realising that this might have been an inappropriate question to ask.

"I would choose mortality" Rosalie replied so quietly, and I was wondering if she had lowered her voice because she was ashamed, or because Emmett could have heard her from downstairs. "A normal life" she whispered.

"Did you ever think that maybe we were the normal ones and the humans were the abnormal ones?" I suddenly put that out there, trying to lighten the mood. Rosalie stared at me curiously, probably wondering if I had gone mad. And then we burst into laughter.

"Do you think you still would have chosen Matt, even after knowing what our life is all about?" Rosalie asked me after our laughter died down, but kept her tone light.

"Without a doubt" I answered her immediately. "To me, he is worth every sacrifice of a human life. But then again, I didn't have much of a human life to begin with" I admitted. "1940s were a bore!" I exclaimed. "Too bad feminism didn't really kick in until the 1960s" I laughed. "Matt is my saviour, I was dying inside and he made me come alive again. He is my angel" I whispered and suddenly realised what Rosalie was saying about wanting to be able to cry.

"I'm sorry" Rosalie said after giving me a couple of minutes of silence to compose myself "Emmett told me I should have left you alone" she made to stand up but I resisted against her.

"No" I shook my head. "I'm enjoying your company" I reassured her. "I'm glad you guys stayed, even if it was just to baby sit me and make sure I wasn't going to do anything rash" I laughed lightly. "Though Emmett could have come up with a better excuse than wanting to watch TV!"

"He's definitely all looks and no brain!" Rosalie smirked.

"But no, you distracted me anyway" I admitted. "If you weren't here, then I don't think I would be here tomorrow morning"

"What do you mean?" Rosalie looked at me, alarm crossing her face.

"I need to keep my head about this" I told her. "You saw how it got before, with the buzzing when I started to freak out about... Matt" I said his name with trouble. "If I had totally lost it, then I lose control of my mind..." I trailed off, and I saw understanding dawning on Rosalie's face. "Which is why a distraction would be a very good thing right now"

"Ok, well what can I do to help then?" Rosalie asked her face set in determination.

"Right now, just be my friend" I smiled gratefully up at her.

"That, I can definitely do" Rosalie smiled back at me as I leant my head against her shoulder again. She put a comforting arm around me and we stared out of the window, watching as the night sky changed colour and the sun rose from the horizon.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 – Matthew (1929)  
**

At first, I was dumbfounded, and then as I regained my senses, I saw blood everywhere. The smell was overpowering, filling up my head, burning my nose and the back of my throat, causing the venom to start flowing in my mouth. I looked up and saw two pairs of red eyes staring back at me.

Challenging me.

I knew what they wanted me to do. And for a second, nothing else mattered except the wasted blood, spilling over, staining the cement. I took a step forward, and the two faces smiled at me. But another face came into my head. He was a man of morals and of another life that I could have. I could see his face clearly now, he looked at me disappointedly. The figures in front of me growled at my hesitation, and the face in my head scowled as I took another step forward. It was the same face he had the last time I had seen him. His burgundy eyes flashed with rage and his lips curled over his teeth in a snarl.

I knew what I had to do. I closed my eyes and brought forward every memory, every conversation that Eddie and I had shared. I focused on the life that he had with his 'parents', a life that didn't involve murder, or keeping to the shadows, only occasionally having contact with other vampires.

A life that didn't involve my brothers.

I opened my eyes and stared at the two of them. My younger brother saw the look in my eyes and stood up slowly, confusion in his face. My older brother was smarter. Before I had the chance to turn and run away, he had grabbed me around the chest, swung me over his head and slammed me into the ground, creating a dent in the road.

"You are not going anywhere" he snarled at me.

"What are you doing?" my younger brother asked, though to whom, I wasn't too sure.

"I have worked too hard and too long to let you ruin it all!" he exclaimed, grabbing my arm and pulling me up to a standing position. He was stronger than me, and faster. My mind raced, my eyes darted around, trying to find an escape. Suddenly I saw my brother, staring at me in fear.

"_Robbie!_" I screamed at him in my mind. "_We don't have to live this way!_" I desperately told him. If I could only get Robbie on my side, then we could defeat him.

"Stand back, Rob" he growled at him, as if he could hear the silent conversation going on in our heads.

"_Robbie, listen to me_" I pleaded. "_There's another life that we could live, a life that doesn't involve killing other people for food_"

"_How else would we eat?_" Robbie asked, deliberating the thought.

"_Animals. Humans kill them for food, so why can't we?_" I told him, repeating what Eddie had told me.

"Stop it!" our brother screamed and suddenly I was flying through the air. I saw my opportunity and landed on my two feet and started running. I knew that he would catch up soon enough, but I had to try. I kept running until I could no longer hear the sounds of the city anymore. It wasn't until I realised that I had run all the way to the coastline that nobody was pursuing me. I was alone.

I looked behind and nobody was there, waiting in the shadows. My brother was stronger, and faster, but my sense of smell was better, and I knew that if he was there, I would be able to sniff him out. I collapsed on the ground, not out of exhaustion, but out of helplessness.

Just in the one night, I had lost my two brothers. I sighed at the pain of leaving my twin with him. Robbie was younger and would surely get hurt if he stayed behind, maybe not by our brother, but by other vampires. But there was nothing I could do to help him. Robbie would have to make a choice between his two brothers, something that I knew he couldn't do. And I couldn't make him do it.

I knew I had to keep going sooner or later, my older brother was a tracker, and he could easily follow me wherever I went. I looked out over the expanse of the sea and knew where I had to go. I had to leave everything behind. Find my life in another country. I had to leave Eddie and my brothers behind. But worst of all, I had to leave Robbie with James.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 – Sophia**

"Where have you been?" A voice thundered my entrance. I stepped back in surprise. Surely this was _my _house? I stared at the face that had greeted me and immediately cleared my head.

"Shut up, Edward' Rosalie breezed past me and pushed her brother into the living room. "You know Soph and I were at school. She needs a distraction" Rosalie told him with finality. "Hey Alice" she greeted her sister who was perched lightly on the edge of the couch like a cat.

"Sophia, we need to ask you something" Alice told me as I followed Rosalie into the living room.

"What's up?" I asked, suddenly reprehensive as Alice and Edward glanced meaningfully at each other. "Has something happened? Did you find Matt?" I asked quickly and I could feel myself losing control. Rosalie put a firm, but comforting hand on my shoulder, calming me down immediately.

"No" Edward growled looking at me strangely.

"Ed" Alice warned him. "It won't help" she told him and he relaxed slightly. "Soph, we were just wondering if Matt had a brother" she asked me.

"Yes" I nodded, then realised something. "Have you seen something?" I asked eagerly.

"Just the usual blurry vision" Alice dampened my hopes quickly. "But I saw Matt with someone who looked very similar to him"

"He has an older brother" I told them. "But I don't know why he would be with James"

"James?" Edward interrupted in a strangled voice. I looked up in surprise and saw Edward clench his fists while Alice looked thoughtfully towards the floor. Even Rosalie's hand on my shoulder tightened considerably.

"James is a common name, Ed" Alice reasoned.

"It could be someone very different" Rosalie nodded, releasing her grip slightly.

"No" Edward shook his head. "The resemblance is too much" he was lost in his thoughts.

"It's the same James?" Alice breathed, looking at Edward thoughtfully.

"I don't need the reminder, Alice!" Edward snapped at her.

"Sorry" Alice withdrew quickly and gazed out the window.

"What's going on?" I looked at them all curiously. They had obviously crossed paths with James before, and I wasn't surprised to see anger flashing in their eyes.

"James tried to kill Bella" Rosalie told me quietly, and Edward growled. "She was still a human..."

"And James hunted her?" I finished. Matt had shown me enough about his brother to know what James was like. "It sounds like the same James to me" I told them all. "So where's he now?" I asked and Rosalie looked surprised.

"You don't know?" she asked.

"James and Matt had a falling out almost a century ago" I explained. "They haven't had any contact with each other since then"

"He's no longer alive" Rosalie said quietly, glancing quickly at Edward. "Emmett and Jasper..."

"Oh" I breathed. I knew they were all wondering how I would react, but I couldn't help but feel relieved. Every memory Matt had shown me of James was always filled with pain and so I knew that Matt wouldn't have felt remorse over the loss of his older brother.

"But..." Alice broke the silence and everyone stared at her. "I would have instantly recognised him" she said more to herself than to us.

"It's not him" Edward confirmed, probably looking into Alice's memory as well. "Then who is it?" he wondered aloud then looked suddenly at Alice in alarm. "You can't tell her"

"She has a right to know, Ed" Alice reasoned with him.

"What are they talking about?" I asked Rosalie in confusion.

"They always do this" Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Explain for the people without mind reading powers" she told the other two.

"It's not James that I saw Matt with" Alice explained to me. "We don't know who it is"

"And Alice thinks we should tell Bella that Matt is James' brother" Edward narrowed his eyes towards Alice.

"She has a right to know" I agreed with Alice. "She was probably tormented by him and seeing the resemblance between Matt and James, she might do something..."

"She won't" Edward reassured me.

"Edward you can't be with her every second of every day" Rosalie scoffed.

"Nobody is telling Bella about this" Edward growled, glaring at us. "She doesn't need to bring up that painful memory ever again"

"Chivalry" Rosalie whispered to me, rolling her eyes and I couldn't help but smile, though Edward was glaring at us. "We won't say anything" Rosalie sighed.

"You always get your way anyway" Alice put her hands up in surrender.

"I think she deserves to know, but sure" I shrugged.

"I can see this ending badly" Alice said a little too confidently.

"Your visions are blurry" Edward snapped back at her.

"Low blow" Alice pouted. "Anyway, speaking of Bella, we have a date" she hopped off the edge of the couch and landed lightly on her feet. "Soph, do you have something of Matt's with his scent?"

"Sure" I said standing up. "Why do you ask?"

"Bella and I need it to go searching" Alice replied.

"You're looking for Matt?" I asked, almost overwhelmed.

"Of course" Alice shrugged nonchalantly. "Why wouldn't we?"

"Because you don't even know him" I stared at her. "You don't even know me"

"Well nobody else is looking for him" Edward mumbled and Rosalie shot him a dark look.

"Don't start commenting on things you don't understand, Ed" Rosalie growled at him. "Come on, Soph" she took my arm. "Let's go find something with Matt's scent on it" and she took me out of the room quickly.

"Thanks" I smiled gratefully at her as we walked up the stairs and into my clothes room. We picked out a shirt that was hidden right in the middle of all his clothes, hoping that the scent wasn't too mixed up with mine, it smelt the strongest anyway. We brought it down to Alice who was sitting in the living room by herself, Edward had gone back home it seemed.

"Thanks, Soph" Alice took the shirt and stood up. She hesitated at the doorway and turned around. "We'll find him, and don't worry about Ed" she reassured me. "Although my visions are blurry, I can see that he'll soon understand" she smiled grimly at me and disappeared through the door.

"You can go too" I told Rosalie. "You've done more than enough" I reassured her.

"Well I'll come back later tonight" Rosalie reassured me. "I've got nothing else to do" she shrugged, reading my thoughts. "Emmett and Jasper are going hunting and I don't want to be left with _him_" she rolled her eyes.

"Well only if you want to" I nodded, hoping that my voice hadn't sounded too eager.

"Of course I want to" Rosalie smiled at me and walked out the door after Alice. "I'll see you tonight!" she called out as she disappeared down the road and I was alone again. I thought about calling one of my friends to come over, but I still didn't feel in the mood to put up my pretences, I had barely just managed during school, and it was all thanks to Rosalie that I did.

I eventually walked around my house slowly, even for a human, trying to kill as much time as possible and keep my vast mind busy. I briefly thought about doing school work, but I knew that it wouldn't last very long. I stopped outside of my sewing room, staring at the sewing machine in the middle of the room. I realised that I hadn't made many clothes as of late, and starting a new project would surely take my mind off the emptiness.

And so I grabbed the first piece of material that my hands touched and sat down at my sewing machine. I had long since needed the use of patterns or markers and just started sewing, letting my instincts take over. I wasn't even too sure of what I was making, my hands going of their own accord. All I knew was that the material I had chosen was a baby blue satin material and it felt like liquid to the touch.

I had thrown myself into my new project that I hadn't noticed when my spine started tingling and the feeling like I was being watched suddenly overcame me. I looked up, but saw nobody in the room, nor outside in the hallway. I stopped what I was doing and stood up, sniffing the air in the room. Something was definitely going on, the smell was different. I tentatively stepped out of the room and looked around, but I still saw nothing.

"Hello?" I called out stupidly. Anything that was out there could never be as scary as what I was, and they definitely couldn't hurt me. But then a nagging feeling at the back of my mind told me, maybe it wasn't human. I sniffed the air again, and smelt something familiar, yet it was somehow different. But definitely not human, and I suddenly went into stalking mode. Whoever was in my house was a vampire, and by the smell of things, they had gone upstairs. I looked up and tried to hear any sounds, but nothing came to my ears. Either the vampire was gone, or they were stealthier than I could ever imagine.

I took the steps one by one, trying myself not to make any noise. I reached the landing and stopped. There was still no noise, but the smell was definitely stronger up here and with a start, I suddenly realised the familiarity. Forgetting all thoughts about being sneaky, I started running towards where the smell was strongest. It led me to my clothes room and all my hopes crashed to the floor.

Lying in the middle of the room was a pile of Matt's clothes, the result of a hasty find earlier today, and the source of my smell. I stepped inside and sank to the floor, letting the smell of my angel envelope me. Of course it had smelt familiar but strange, because it had been mixed in with the ammonia of carpet cleaner. I felt stupid for even thinking, for the smallest fraction of a second, that Matt had come back and not come to see me first. I picked up the first piece of clothing within my reach. It was a black shirt, one of the first things I had made him. I put the shirt to my nose, smelling Matt everywhere between the fibres and closed my eyes.

Suddenly, I was back in my dormitory room in 1953 and I was looking out of my window facing the forest that was my backyard. And there he was, leaning against a tree, arms crossed over his chest and smiling at me, his dark eyes twinkling. My heart skipped a beat. I knew I had seen him before. I could never forget that beautiful face. I put down the dishes I was cleaning and quickly walked around to the backdoor. I glanced behind me, making sure none of the other girls were awake before I walked outside, searching the forest for any sign of him. But of course, he had disappeared like every other time that I had seen a glimpse of him. I looked out dejectedly, not knowing why I was feeling so upset over not being able to see this beautiful boy up close.

I stepped closer to the encroaching forest, I didn't know what I was doing, but all I knew was that I couldn't lose him again. He couldn't disappear into the night every time I wanted a closer look. I kept running forward, desperately searching for him between the trees.

"Looking for me?" I stopped, his voice had melted my entire body, and for a moment, I forgot how to move my legs so that I could turn. But eventually, muscle memory took over and I was staring into the most ideal, beautiful face I had ever laid eyes on. He was much more perfect up close than he was from far away and I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. But that seemed to have done the opposite effect as I breathed in his scent. It seemed like the most precious perfume this world had to offer. I looked up at him and realised that I was mistaken on one part of his physical features. His dark eyes were no longer dark this close, they shimmered a deep gold colour, and they were looking down at me intently.

"Who are you?" I managed to croak out and he laughed. I stepped back in surprise at the musicality of his voice.

"Your worst nightmare" he told me, though his smile was on his face and his gold eyes were dancing.

"No" I said before I could think about it. "You're my favourite dream" a range of emotions flickered across his face.

"Do you really mean that?" he asked, almost desperately. I was shocked by his reaction and he closed himself up almost as immediately as it had happened.

"So who are you?" I stared curiously at him, trying to keep my thoughts straight, now that he was standing so close to me.

"Why do you want to know?" He asked, staring at me just as curiously.

"Because I'm curious" I shrugged.

"You're not scared?" he asked in surprise.

"Should I be?" I looked at him. There was nothing scary about him at all. Just the way he was looking at me made me feel weak at the knees.

"Most people are" he shrugged and I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. I didn't even believe it could be possible that someone could be so perfect.

"Well most people are stupid" I laughed and he joined in, making mine sound rough and unnatural.

"You're not like most people of this era" he commented absentmindedly.

"I'll take that as a compliment" I smiled, though I was surprised that he had noticed I didn't quite fit in. I had perfect grades, and was liked by everyone; I even had a marriage to think about in a couple of month's time. "And what do you mean, this era" I stared at him suspiciously. There was something definitely not right about him, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"My name's Matt" he told me, ignoring my question.

"Sophia" I curtsied without thinking, lowering my eyes. I glanced up at him through my lashes and saw that he was staring at me with amusement.

"No need for the courtesies" Matt said and went to reach out for my face, but hesitated halfway through and pulled back. I stood up straight and stared at him, noticing how white his skin was. It looked as smooth as marble; absolutely no blemishes could be seen.

"What are you?" I asked my eyes unable to tear themselves away from his stone-like skin. Somehow in my question, I had come to the conclusion that he mustn't be human. Nobody could look this perfect and be of the same species. Or maybe I had just read too many of the forbidden biology books. He didn't answer me and so I looked up to stare into his golden eyes again. I was surprised by how sad they were. "I'm sorry" I cast my eyes downwards again, embarrassed that I might have offended this angel standing in front of me.

"There's no need to be sorry" he reassured me, his silky voice floating all over my body, enveloping me in its richness. "But I would rather you try and find out yourself, it might make it more believable"

"And you would tell me if I was right?" I looked back up, now seeing a little excitement in his eyes.

"I would do anything for you" he said softly, and my heart melted to the ground. He lifted up his hand ever so slowly and reached up to my face. His eyes seemed torn, an internal battle going on behind them. I took a small step forward, hoping that it would show him what I wanted, and sure enough, his hand kept moving forward.

I gasped as his hand brushed against my cheek, not because of the initial coldness of it, but because of the electricity that passed through our skins. Suddenly, I was flying; my head felt dizzy, my entire body went numb. I couldn't feel anything else that was surrounding me, all that mattered was that this thing, this angel, was standing in front of me, his golden eyes boring deep into mine. And it was at that moment that I finally knew what it was...

To be in love.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 - Sophia  
**

Over the next couple of days, we had all fallen into a routine. Rosalie and I would go to school, Carlisle and Esme would go to their jobs, and the rest would take it in turns to hunt down Matt in pairs. The rest would join Rosalie and me at school so that I didn't have to work so hard in masking their absence. After school, Rosalie would leave me alone for a couple of hours and then either she would come back and spend the night at mine, or I would go to hers to wile away the hours.

The weekend was spent with my school friends and Rosalie, going to the movies and shopping. We spent most of the other time not out, at my house watching videos and cooking. Of course Rosalie and I never ate the food; it was just fun going through the process with Gabby and Nina. Alice sometimes joined in, especially when there was shopping involved, dragging Bella with her, though I could tell Bella was far from pleased at being there with the present company.

As Sunday night came around, Rosalie finally returned home to welcome her husband back from his and Carlisle's turn of searching for Matt. They had all come back confused and slightly frustrated that every scent they picked up led them to another dead end. Rosalie had intended to come back in the early hours of the morning, but I had reassured her that I was going to be fine for one night. The moment she was gone however, I could feel the emptiness of the house press down on me and I knew I had to do something quickly before I would lose control of my mind, something that I was able to handle for the past week with Rosalie's help. She had kept me so busy that I didn't have to think about the emptiness, the missing part of myself that I longed for.

I ran upstairs into my bedroom, searching for the baby blue material that I had been using the past couple of days. I had finally figured out that I was creating a dress, though it seemed to me to be more of a party dress than a casual thing I could wear to the shops. Even so, I felt a strange pull into finishing it.

"Are you really that selfish?" I turned around in surprise and saw Bella's golden eyes flashing in my direction. I was so preoccupied with my searching that I hadn't heard her come into the house.

"I'm sorry?" I asked.

"How can you sit behind and let everyone else do the work?" she demanded. "Do you even love him?"

"Of course I do" I answered, looking down at my hands.

"Well if Edward was the one missing, I wouldn't be able to even _think_" Bella crossed her arms over her chest, as if just thinking about it hurt her. She stared at me, waiting for my answer.

"It's just not that easy" I said slowly.

"Well you're doing a damn good job at making it look easy" Bella spat out. "You're acting like nothing has even happened, going around playing human with Rosalie!"

"Bella" I pleaded with her. I had to make her understand. "I _have_ to act like nothing has happened"

"You have to?" Bella repeated eyes wide with shock. "No, what you have to do is stop acting like nothing is happening and letting us do all the work while you go off with your friends and Rose and have fun. Do you think that it's fair on _us_ that while we are out looking for someone we don't know, _you_ are going to school, and the shops, and doing God knows what else?"

"I can't give up what I have here!" I suddenly exploded. Bella stared at me.

"So you're going to give up on the one person you love?" She shook her head incredulously.

"By me not turning up at school and leaving the borders of the town now," I sighed. "Then, I'm giving up on Matthew" I looked at her earnestly. "And I'd be giving up on your entire family as well."

"What are you talking about?" Bella looked at me in confusion.

"Matthew and I have been here way too long." I explained. "My hold on this town grows stronger and stronger the longer I stay here. If I just up and leave today, then everything that I have masked them from will be plain as day."

"Oh" Bella said quietly, understanding dawning on her.

"Not only will we be revealed as different, but every conversation that I was able to divert their attention from, every time we've been away from school without an explanation, they will all start to remember it." I sighed. "Slowly, but surely, they will start to remember, and with their memory, they will start to question" I said slowly. "I need to stay in town and be around so that I can keep up our façade. Not just for Matthew and me, but for your family as well"

"Oh" Bella repeated, thinking things over in her head.

"Bella, I know that you don't really like me" I told her.

"It's not that I don't like you" Bella interrupted me. "It's just that Edward gets upset every time he spends time with you. And when Edward gets upset..."

"You get upset too" I finished the sentence for her. I knew exactly how she felt, how attached she was to Edward, because I felt the same way about Matthew. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course" Bella nodded, sitting at the end of my bed.

"Do you remember the first time you were all here, and I told you my story?" I asked, sitting beside her.

"Definitely" Bella nodded again. "It was the first moment of you and Edward's rocky relationship" she smiled grimly and I laughed lightly.

"Well, something's been bugging me about that time, and I haven't had the chance to bring it up" I explained. "Your reaction to something I said had me wondering and Rosalie had mentioned once that you and I were very similar in our manner of becoming a vampire"

"I went through a similar thing with Edward" Bella nodded in confirmation. "I wanted to be changed, to be with him. I mean, how can a human be with a vampire? He's immortal and we're..."

"Not" I nodded in understanding.

"But the difference between your story and mine" Bella sighed. "Edward didn't want to change me, and it took a lot of convincing, a lot of compromises, and a baby for him to finally do it"

"He didn't want to change you?" I asked in surprise. Every time that they were together, I couldn't see a hint of regret on Edward's face. He seemed thrilled that he was with Bella. She shook her head in response to my question.

"He thought he was taking my soul" Bella explained. "He thought he might as well be killing me"

"But..." I started, but Bella interrupted me.

"Trust me, I went through the whole thing in my head before" Bella said sombrely. "And even now when I have a beautiful daughter and a wonderful husband, I don't understand why Edward never wanted all of this in the first place" she told me, fiddling with the diamond ring that was on a chain around her neck.

"Do you think he still regrets changing you?" I asked.

"No," Bella shook her head determinedly. "I don't think he ever did regret changing me, it means that we can be together forever, instead of the 80 odd years that it would take for me to die!" she laughed bitterly.

"Is that your wedding ring?" I asked, indicating the beautiful diamond that was dancing around her fingers.

"Yeah" Bella nodded, looking down at the ring with fondness. "We thought it might be best if I had it around my neck instead of on my finger so that we wouldn't have to answer any unwanted questions" she explained. "High school kids, married" she sighed. "That's something you don't see every day! Especially if those kids were adopted into the same family!" she laughed.

"Bella?" a voice floated from downstairs and up to our room. I could hear the front door open and someone walking inside.

"In Soph's room" Bella called back.

"Hmm" was the reply, and even I could hear the tone of disapproval in his voice. I made sure that I cleared my head before he came too close, I didn't like the idea of anyone else in there. "What are you doing over here?" Edward asked, appearing in the doorway.

"We were just talking" Bella glanced at me and smiled. The initial conversation between us was forgotten.

"About?" Edward asked, looking pointedly at me. I knew that they had talked about me when I wasn't around, and it seemed like Edward was confused by our obvious calmness with each other.

"Stuff" Bella shrugged and Edward sighed in frustration at her.

"Eddie, if you want to ask me a question, just do it" I finally told him. "You're not going to get in here" I tapped my head.

"Why do you care more about this town than you do about the one you love?" Edward's question took me by surprise. I stared at him, horrified that he thought that of me. For a couple of seconds I couldn't think.

"What are you talking about?" I gaped at him.

"You're worried that people will have their mask lifted if you just leave town without a moments notice and all of us will be exposed" Edward explained.

"You were listening!" Bella gasped, her eyes flashed momentarily in anger.

"But we have dealt with suspicious people before" Edward ignored Bella's comment and continued. "You just don't want to move" he accused. Bella stared at me in surprise. It was then that I realised Edward must have taken the chance when I was with Bella to read my mind, when I hadn't cleared it and protected it from him.

"You have the wrong idea" I shook my head, speaking quietly.

"Well then please, enlighten me" Edward crossed his arms over his chest.

"I do love this town" I admitted, better to get it out there initially than have it thrown back at me. "But I do love Matthew as well. And we _both_ made our lives here." I sighed, forcing myself to remain in control and not fall apart. "The decision to leave a town has never fallen on me alone, but on the both of us, because it's draining to leave a town, not just on me, but on Matthew as well. I can't leave when Matthew is not here to help me through it." I told them in a voice so quiet I wasn't sure that even they could hear me. "I'm already just holding it together, but if I have to leave the life that Matt and I set up together..." I trailed off, knowing that if I finished my sentence that I would definitely fall apart.

"Soph" Bella whispered quietly, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder. It was quiet for a couple of minutes, the only sounds coming from the open window, while Edward and Bella deliberated what I had just told them.

"Bella, we should go" Edward finally said gently. Bella nodded mutely and stood up beside her husband.

"Soph" she turned around to face me. She grabbed my hands and gave them a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "You know that no matter what happens you're not alone. You have us now"

"Thank you" I smiled at her, grateful. I felt like I wanted to do something for her when a sparkle caught my eye. "You know it won't take a lot of energy to mask a ring on your finger" I told her.

"Thank you" Bella smiled at me, gave my hands another squeeze, and she disappeared with Edward by her side.

I had a restless night that night. Nothing that I would normally do seemed to make me relaxed. Edward's words kept rolling around in my head, taking up every space, corner and crevice until I couldn't think anymore. Did I really love the town more than I loved Matt? Of course that wasn't true. Matt is my life, my everything. So why wasn't I leaving the town to help find him? Was I just too scared that I wouldn't survive the ordeal of trying to subtly lift the mask this town was under? Or was it something else?

In the frustration of my mind, I hadn't noticed that my finger was under the needle of the sewing machine and it had bent when it tried to go through my skin. I sighed and took the piece of baby blue material that I was using out of the way, cut the thread and took out the needle. I didn't know what to do, so I sat there, looking at this bent needle in my hand, and felt like crying. I knew in myself that I couldn't lose control, but here I was, sitting alone in a large, empty house, feeling the loneliness encroach down on me. And with the loneliness came the feeling of helplessness.

Where was Matthew?

5


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 – Matthew (1953)  
**

I watched from afar. The worst day of my life. I watched as she walked down the aisle, arm in arm with her father. I watched as the veil was lifted and she was made to hold hands with this... man. I watched as they said their vows. And I almost lifted a tree out of the ground when I watched them kiss, sealing their promise to one another.

They walked back down the aisle to the applause of their friends and family and through the flowery archway that was at the other end of the garden. She knew that I was here, watching her from the shadows. I had to convince her to go through with her marriage. As much as it pained me, I couldn't let her run away, leaving everything behind. But wasn't that what I wanted in the end?

Just before she climbed into the car, her eyes quickly darted around the trees, searching for me. She told me not to come. She told me that it would cause me unnecessary pain. And as usual, she was right. I stepped back, blending in with the shadow of the trees so that her human eyes couldn't see me, but I noticed that her gaze lingered a little longer where I was, as if she could sense me there. Or maybe it was just my imagination that I had _wanted_ her to sense where I was.

She got into the car and just like that, they drove off to their reception. The sun was still shining brightly in the sky so I couldn't go anywhere for awhile. I sat down on the branch I was on and leant against the trunk of the tree. I looked out into the clear blue sky and thought about the beautiful bride, her chocolate brown eyes staring deeply into mine, telling me that she wanted to be with me forever.

It was while I was in the middle of my fantasy when a whistle broke through my reverie. It wasn't a human whistle; it was too musical, like a bird's tune. I knew the whistle, it sent shivers up and down my spine, and if my heart was beating, it would have jumped right out of my chest. I looked around until I saw the familiar light brown hair sticking up from between the trees.

I jumped and landed lightly on the ground. The figure didn't stop when it heard me, as if he knew where I was all along, but kept walking towards me, whistling all the way.

"_Robbie_" I thought, smiling.

"_Nice to see you again, Mattie_" Robbie thought, not breaking his whistling. I stepped back in surprise at the sound of his voice. It was no longer soft and young; it had hardened into a harsh voice that had seen too much torment. I stayed silent as Robbie walked straight up to me, only stopping his whistling tune when he was close and I gasped at the sight.

"What..." I stuttered, looking at his face all over. We were identical twins, but the face staring back at me wasn't mine. There were crescent shape marks scarring his face and neck. He took one more step closer to me and I could see that the scars didn't stop there. Covering his arms were the same marks, scattered in a way that I knew he had gotten into a fight with another vampire.

"You look the same as always" Robbie commented on my appearance. "Except your eyes" he stared curiously at me. "Being a vegetarian agrees with you then, I suppose"

"What happened to you, Robbie?" I asked, ignoring his pleasantries and just stared open mouthed at his scars.

"After 20 years of not seeing your twin brother, and that's all you have to say?" Robbie shook his head. There was something very different about his demeanour I noticed. He was no longer the shy, naïve younger brother that he was when he was with James and me. He had grown up, though he didn't look a day older than 18, and he was definitely more confident. "You can do better than that, Mattie" Robbie frowned.

"Robbie, you have no idea how much I've missed you" I told him.

"Really?" Robbie cocked his head. "Because you running out on us 20 years ago didn't really send me that signal" And I gasped as I suddenly realised who he had become. Who I might have become if I stayed all those years ago.

"Where's James?" I asked, trying to sound casual and I noticed that Robbie visibly tightened.

"Running around with his new coven" Robbie told me bitterly.

"So what have you been doing?" I asked gently, I didn't want to push him over the edge.

"Surviving" Robbie replied simply, looking hard at me.

"What happened, Robbie?" I asked desperately. Although he was only younger by a couple of minutes, he was still my younger brother.

"You left, that's what happened" Robbie flared up. "You left me with James, Mattie! What did you think would happen?"

"I didn't think that he would hurt you" I said quietly, eyeing the scars decorating his smooth skin.

"_He_ didn't hurt me, Mattie" Robbie told me, his voice going hard again. "_You did_" He told me those words with his mind, and with it came the pain and the betrayal that Robbie felt. And then my world melted away and I saw it, the way Robbie acted upon instinct, I felt the pain in my face, my neck, my whole body as James fought, but most of all, I saw myself, 20 years ago, running away and not looking back.

"You jumped on him" I said quietly, when Robbie finished giving me his memory of that night.

"I had to do something, Mattie" Robbie told me, his voice softer.

"You saved me" I told him, the words not able to come to me.

"Yeah well, fat lot of good that did me" Robbie said bitterly, staring down at his arms.

"Robbie, I'm so sorry" I said quietly.

"Do you think I searched for you for 20 years for an apology?" Robbie cocked his head and looked at me.

"So what did you want?" I asked.

"An explanation" Robbie folded his arms across his chest and leant against the nearest tree.

"I don't know why I did it, Robbie" I shrugged. "I just couldn't play James' games anymore. Do you know how many people we hurt along the way? Not just the girls we tracked and killed, but how about their families?"

"We were a family!" Robbie interrupted angrily. "And you tore us apart!"

"No, James would have done that if I hadn't" I shook my head.

"James wanted us to stay together" Robbie defended his older brother.

"Do you know why James changed us, Robbie?" I asked him, and he shook his head slowly in reply. "He changed us because he _needed_ us."

"Why would he need us? He was faster and stronger" Robbie looked at me in defiance. I knew he wasn't going to accept my explanation easily.

"He was faster and stronger than us, but I had the better sense of smell, and you had better hearing" I pointed out. "Plus after he changed me, he found out about my strange power"

"So what does that have to do with me?" Robbie asked.

"We're twins, Robbie. James thought that whatever gift I had, it was highly probable that you would have the same gift. I mean, we never found it weird that we could always know what the other one was thinking; we just thought it was a twin thing. But James wanted to find out exactly" I explained.

"So he changed me because he was curious" Robbie shrugged. "It also meant that we could always be together as a family" He pointed out.

"Robbie, open your eyes!" I told him firmly. "He didn't want to keep us together as a family; he wanted to keep us together for convenience!" I stared at him. "_We can talk to each other with our minds; think about how many silent attacks we did. Not just on humans, but on vampires too_" Robbie contemplated that for awhile and I waited. "James had a plan for us" I told him gently, testing to see if Robbie was still listening to me. He glanced at me quickly. "He wanted us to become so powerful that we were able to overpower a country from vampires"

"But..." Robbie looked at me, contemplating what I had just told him.

"Think about it, if we were able to take over a country, or even a significant part of the country, we would never go hungry" I explained carefully, unsure of how Robbie would react. "We could do what vampires before us couldn't do with their newborns because of the Volturi. James was training us" I told him.

"Wow..." Robbie breathed, though I wasn't sure if he was horrified like I was when I learnt of James' grand plan, or if he was actually impressed with it.

"Robbie, say something" I tried to read his expression, but he had learnt to carefully guard it as well as James had been able to.

"You're wrong" Robbie said quietly, his red eyes slowly coming up to meet my gaze.

"Robbie, you know that I'm telling you the truth" I told him. "James had it all planned out..."

"Oh I believe you about that" Robbie interrupted. "But how can you say that James never cared for us? We would have been living the life, never hungry, always satisfied"

"And do you think that James would have kept us as soon as he got his wish?" I asked him incredulously.

"Of course" Robbie replied instantly, though I could see the doubt behind his eyes.

"Then you're as naïve as James always said you were" I shook my head at him in disbelief but immediately regretted my words as I saw Robbie visibly wince. "Sorry" I apologised.

"_So why did you leave me behind?_" Robbie asked.

"_You would have had to choose between your brothers. I wasn't going to make you do that_" I told him.

"_So you made the choice for me?_" Robbie replied angrily. "_Did you think I was too _naïve_ to make my own decisions?_"

"_Of course not!_" I said quickly.

"_So why did you leave me with James?_" Robbie asked, the betrayal seeping from his mind to mine. "_You're my twin! We should have stuck together!_"

"_I'm sorry, Robbie..._" I started.

"_I don't want your apologies!_" Robbie roared and before I knew what was happening, my head was filled with distant memories full of pain and anger.

I saw the anger seeping out of James and I felt the fear as he stood, glaring over me, knowing that I couldn't overpower him even if I tried. I felt the pain, even after a couple of months, when James came back with another vampire, a ferocious red headed woman who wasn't as strong as James, but was definitely faster and more calculating. And then I felt a different sort of pain as I heard James tell me he didn't need me anymore and ran off with the red headed female, knowing that no matter how hard I ran, I wouldn't be able to catch up to them.

And just as quickly as it had started, it was pulled out of my head, leaving me feeling breathless.

"Robbie" I whispered.

"Don't..." Robbie put up his hand. He never was able to control his mind spills, as we put it, and I knew that he didn't mean for me to see what he had shown. "I hope you and your girl are happy together" he spat out the last word bitterly and ran off.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 – Sophia**

Monday morning arrived as it always did, the sun shining in the sky, brightening up the library where I had ended up, curled up on the couch gazing absentmindedly out of the window. Edward's words hadn't managed to escape my mind and I knew what I had to do.

Before Rosalie had a chance to come and collect me from my house as she had promised the night before, I was changed and running towards the Cullen house, my mind set on what had to be done.

"Sophia" Alice greeted me, as if she knew I was coming all along. Come to think about it, she probably did know I was coming.

"Sophia!" Jasper looked up at me in surprise. "What are you doing here?" I glanced questioningly at Alice who shrugged.

"Thought you might want to tell them" Alice explained, dancing over to stand next to Jasper.

"I've come to help look for Matt" I said quietly.

"Sophia..." Edward's voice came from beside me, and I turned around to find him and Bella standing at the bottom of the stairs, staring at me with pity. "You don't have to"

"No, you were right, Edward" I shook my head. "Matt is much more important to me then this town and the life that we have set up here. So I want to help, I'll try lifting the veil subtly so that their memories will come back fuzzy and they won't question anything" I explained.

"Sophia" Bella put her hand softly on my arm. "You said yourself last night that you were just barely hanging on. Don't tire yourself out by doing this, it won't help anybody"

"It will help Matt" I told her.

"Forget what I said last night" Edward told her. "I was angry and upset. But Bella's right, there's no point in draining yourself just to protect our secret. We will look after the search for Matt and you look after yourself, make sure that you're able to keep up the mask" he reassured me.

"But it won't be that hard" I tried to defend myself.

"Sophia, we don't want to risk somebody in this town knowing." Jasper told me reasonably.

"How long does it usually take for you to be able to leave a town safely?" Alice asked quietly.

"A bit over a week" I admitted softly. I knew that they would never let me consider attempting to lift the veil in just one day.

"Sophia..." Bella started, and I knew what she was going to say.

"I can do it" I desperately told them. "I want to be out there looking for Matt. I know his scent well; maybe that's what's been hindering this search"

"I know his scent too, Sophia" Edward reminded me. "And what we're picking up smells like him, but it always ends up disappearing, like he knows we're searching for him and is trying to divert us" he looked up meaningfully at me, and I didn't have to read his mind to know what he was thinking.

"Matt would never leave me like that" I said quietly but firmly.

"Sophia, even so, we can't risk you lifting up the veil in one day and finding out that it hasn't worked properly" Jasper changed the topic quickly.

"It will expose us all and we know what that means" Alice looked pointedly at us all, our minds going straight to the Volturi and the death that would surely occur.

"Soph" a voice came from behind us and I whirled around to see Emmett. But instead of his happy grin and carefree face, he looked upset and a little pained. "I appreciate that you want to help us find your boyfriend, but right now, I have to ask that you do something for me" he looked at me, his golden eyes boring into my black ones.

"What is it?" I asked concerned, I had never seen Emmett look so upset and it unnerved me.

"I need you to think about Rose" he told me. "Think about everything that she's done for you this past week and think about what you're asking" he looked down. "You're giving her what nobody could ever give her, not even me" he glanced back up. "You're giving her some aspect of a normal life. Being allowed out in the sunlight without being noticed, having friends that doesn't involve any one of us, and letting her experience life as close as possible to a normal teenager. If you lift this veil up, then she's got nothing again" he told me, his voice full of remorse.

"She's got you, Emmett" I reassured him, but he shook his head.

"I know that she would choose a normal life over me" Emmett shrugged and I stared at him, surprised by how casual he seemed about it. "I just want her to be happy, Soph, and you give that to her. So I'm going to ask you something that may seem very selfish" he looked at me, almost pleadingly. "Keep up this veil. I'll look for Matt twice as hard if you can keep Rose happy just for a little while longer"

"Sure" I told him. I knew I could do it; after all, what Emmett had said was true. After everything that Rosie had done for me, I was just repaying her by taking away the one thing that I could give her to say thank you.

"Thanks Soph" Emmett smiled gratefully at me.

"You better hurry if you're going to school then" Alice spoke up. "Rosie's at yours now and she'll be wondering where you are" she told me.

"You're not coming?" I asked as I headed out the door.

"Yeah, Bella, Jasper and I will meet you at school" Alice waved at me. That left Edward and Emmett on hunting duty. "And tell Rosie that you thought you were meeting her here, she won't suspect anything" Alice informed me.

"Thanks" I waved back at her as I started running back to my house.

* * *

Sure enough, Rosie had bought my excuse and we travelled to school together. The day went by as any other day, Nina and Kyle were getting more and more mushier each day, Dan was still ogling Rosalie, and Gabby kept us informed of all the goings on at the school. But however hard I tried, my mind kept drifting back to the conversation this morning and something that Edward had said. I hardly paid attention in class, though Rosie saved me a few times by whispering the answer to a question a teacher had asked me, and I floated through the day towards lunch.

"Soph, are you ok?" Rosie finally asked me softly. We were sitting outside for lunch this time, the sunlight warming our usually cold skins by a fraction of a degree.

"Yeah" I nodded.

"You just seem very absentminded today" Rosie commented, looking at me with concern. "What's going on?" she asked, and I told her what had happened last night.

"Now I just don't know what to do" I sighed. "I really need to find Matt, Rosie" I looked at her pleadingly.

"I can't believe Edward did that" Rosie shook her head. "Soph, we will find Matt soon, you just have to keep believing"

"Maybe he doesn't want to be found" I finally voiced my concerns. Rosie stared at me in shock.

"You cannot believe that!" she told me vehemently.

"But Edward said that it looks like Matt's trying to deflect their search, always leading them to dead ends" I explained.

"Edward's an idiot" Rosie rolled her eyes.

"But how about if it's true?" I said softly, unable to look up at Rosie's golden eyes, afraid of what I would see in them. She was silent for awhile, then she took my hand in hers.

"Soph, do you honestly believe that Matt would leave you like that?" Rosie forced me to look up at her.

"Well..." I stuttered.

"It's a simple yes or no answer" Rosie pushed me.

"No" I said quietly.

"Then trust yourself" she told me. "Don't start doubting yourself because everyone else around you is thinking this whole situation is questionable."

"I know" I threw my hands up in frustration. "But I can't think of any other reason for his disappearance and why nobody has found him yet! I need to go looking for him myself!" I suddenly exclaimed.

"Shh, Soph" Rosie pulled me into her arms and held me tightly. "If you want to go looking for him, then we'll go looking for him" she said softly. Her voice had a strange tone to it and I suddenly remembered my promise to Emmett. It hadn't even been a full day and I had already let him down.

"No" I shook my head, pulling away. "I just needed to let it off my chest" I reassured her. "Thanks" I smiled grimly at her.

"Hey Soph, where's Matt today?" Gabby asked, pulling Rosie and me out of our private little world.

"What?" I asked, trying to clear my head. I glanced over at Rosie who was staring at me, a mixture of surprise and horror on her beautiful face. And it suddenly dawned on me.

"Where's Matt?" Gabby repeated.

"Yeah, I haven't seen him in awhile" Dan spoke up, looking around him as if he had just noticed his absence.

"He's..." I stuttered. I never had to deal with this before, but then again, my angel had never gone missing on me for longer than the two days it took for him to go hunting.

"He's got a virus" Rosie spoke up for me.

"Why didn't we see him at yours yesterday then?" Gabby asked.

"He's at my house, didn't really want to spread the disease around and we have a bigger house than Soph" Rosie explained, thinking quickly on her feet.

"Are you feeling ok, Soph?" Nina asked, looking at me curiously. "Do you think you caught the virus too?" I latched onto her excuse and nodded my head mutely.

"Hey, Rosie" Alice appeared from behind us. "Are you feeling sick?" she asked in a strangely pained voice. I turned around and saw that her face had fallen, her already pale skin adding to the effect.

"No, I feel fine, but I think Soph caught what Matt has" Rosie stood up, putting an arm around her 'sister'. "Are you ok?"

"I think Jasper and I caught it as well" Alice said, we looked over to where her, Jasper and Bella had been sitting and saw Bella with an arm around Jasper who was curled over onto the table. "I don't feel so good" her acting was incredible, and I almost believed her myself. I tried to copy her movements, curling myself in a ball and letting a little moan escape my lips.

"Maybe you three should go see the nurse?" Kyle suggested.

"No, don't want to infect anyone else" Rosie shook her head and turned to the others. "Guys, if anyone asks, Bella and I are taking these sick people home" she told them in a sweet voice, a tone that could not be refuted.

"Of course" Dan nodded eagerly.

"Thanks, Dan" Rosie smiled sweetly at him, and the three of us had to smother a giggle as we heard Dan's heartbeat become irregular. "C'mon, let's go" Rosie put one hand under my arm and lifted me up. We walked extra slowly back to Jasper and Bella who joined us and soon, we were out of the school grounds.

"Thank you so much!" I said gratefully to each of them.

"What happened?" Bella asked, looking with concern at me. "You didn't..."

"No I didn't try and lift the veil" I shook my head. "I just lost control for a minute there, that's all. I'm sorry" I looked at them all regretfully.

"It's not your fault" Rosie reassured me.

"Well to make sure it doesn't happen again, I suggest we go back to our house and regroup" Jasper suggested and we ran off in agreement.

"Can I ask something?" I said halfway towards the house, I had to fill in the silence before I lost control again.

"Anything" Alice replied from my left.

"Why were you the one who was sick?" I asked and Alice and Jasper snickered.

"Because Bella can't really act" Alice laughed as Bella growled playfully at her. "Nobody would have believed her"

"Seeing as nobody here believes in me, I'm going to go check up on Edward" Bella sniffed, though a smile was still playing on her lips.

"Well just make sure that you're checking up on Edward, not giving him the smooches" Alice winked at her as Bella pulled away and disappeared into the surrounding forest. It was just the distraction I needed as we ran the rest of the way to their house laughing.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 - Sophia (1953)  
**

"I'll see you tonight!" I waved as my husband walked out of our front gate and into his car. I plastered on my smile, keeping my hand waving until he was out of sight. I sighed and walked inside; making sure that my smile was still on for any curious neighbours. I shut the door behind me and wasn't surprised to see my angel standing there in front of me.

"You look sad?" he asked, staring at me inquisitively with those golden eyes of his. The corners of my mouth lifted up into a smile on their own accord and his perfect mouth mirrored mine. "Now that's better" he told me, his voice already warming up my heart.

"What are you doing here, Matt?" I asked, walking past him and into the kitchen. As I did, I felt the coldness from his skin wash over mine.

"And here I am thinking that you were happy to see me" he leaned casually against the doorway, watching me take away the dishes from the breakfast table and putting them in the sink.

"You know I'm always happy to see you" I told him. "But it's the middle of the day. You could get caught" I looked at him and I knew that worry was creasing my face. In an instant he was standing in front of me, his cold fingers cupping my face, his thumbs massaging out the worry lines.

"How many times do I have to tell you, you don't have to worry about me" Matt told me in a soothing voice that reminded me of the ocean. "_No matter where I am, no matter how much danger I am in, as long as you are here with me, I will be content_" he told me through his mind as his eyes stared intently into mine. I smiled and leant my head against his chest, feeling the coldness through his shirt and onto my cheek. "Soph..." he started, but I already knew what he was going to say.

"Tomorrow" I told him with finality, pulling back so that I could look into those golden eyes again. Searching for any hint of regret, anything that would tell me he might go back on his promise.

"Are you sure?" Matt asked me for the millionth time in the past year. "I don't want to make you do anything that you don't want to do"

"Matt" I sighed. "By doing this, will we be together forever?" I asked, already knowing the answer he was going to say.

"Of course" Matt replied.

"Then I want to be changed" I told him earnestly.

**Matthew**

"You're changing her?" I whipped around at the sound of his voice.

"What are you doing here, Robbie?" I asked my twin.

"Just observing" He replied, leaning casually up against a tree, examining his fingers. He seemed to have recovered from the last meeting I had with him just 6 months earlier. "Interesting life you've put up here" He indicated the bright house behind me.

"Leave her alone" I growled.

"_Or what?_" Robbie challenged in my head. I growled in reply. Low enough so that Sophia and her husband couldn't hear it, but menacing enough so that Robbie would know I meant business. "You know, you left me once, and that wasn't such a pleasant experience" he said nonchalantly as I winced in memory of that day. "So maybe I really shouldn't leave her either"

"She's done nothing to you so what do you want with her?" I demanded.

"Oh it's got nothing to do with her" Robbie shook his head, a menacing smile curving his lips. "But you _love_ her, Mattie" I knew where he was going with this, and I clenched my fists to stop myself ripping him apart right there in Sophia's backyard.

"Robbie..." I tried to keep my voice even. "You know that I didn't want to leave you with James..."

"Oh I heard all of this before" Robbie interrupted me with a wave of his hand. "I'm just curious, that's all" he stared at me curiously. "_How can you love a human?_" he asked me in his mind.

"You know you sound more and more like James everyday" I told him bitterly and he growled in response. I sighed; I didn't want to get in a fight with him so close to civilisation, to Sophia. "Humans are not our prey, well they don't have to be our prey" I explained. "Give them a chance and..."

"And what? They'll run screaming and start burning us? I don't want to live through that again!" Robbie shook his head.

"Not all of them" I told him. "There are families out there that actually _live_ amongst humans and they're not burnt to a crisp"

"What like your Eddie friend?" Robbie spat out his name. "Which reminds me, have you seen him lately? Does he still keep in contact with you, or did you hurt him so much that he can't stand to be around you anymore?" he knew that he hit a sore spot. I winced at the mention of my former friend.

The last conversation we had wasn't as pleasant as the others and I shut my eyes to keep the memory away, but it was burnt into my head and all I saw was Eddie's eyes, fire burning inside them, I heard his menacing growl, his face contorted into one of shock, horror and betrayal.

"Maybe I'm doing this girl a favour" Robbie said casually, leaning against the tree again, "seeing as you seem to always hurt the ones that you love. First Eddie, then me, and next will be her" he pointed to the window where Sophia was sitting at the table having dinner with her husband. She was smiling and laughing, but I could see that her happiness didn't reach her deep brown eyes.

"You're wrong" I told my brother in a low voice.

"Am I?" Robbie asked, cocking his head to the side, challenging me again. "Do you think you're doing the right thing by taking her away from her family and friends, from her _husband_?"

"She's unhappy in this life" I told him, though inside I had to tell myself that too. "She doesn't see her family, she has very little friends and she doesn't love her husband" I reasoned.

"Now that's interesting" Robbie nodded his head. "She's not in love with a human, _but she's in love with a vampire_" he finished his sentence in my mind, filled with sarcasm and disbelief. "Now that just doesn't make sense now does it" he told me, planting seeds of doubt in my mind.

"She loves me" I told him determinedly. "And I love her"

"Oh there's no doubt about it" Robbie put his hands up in defence. "You're definitely in love with her, but is she really in love with you? She is, after all, just a human"

"Not after tomorrow she won't be" I growled.

"So you really are changing her?" Robbie raised his eyebrow and shook his head. "What made _you_ change, Mattie?" he asked, looking at me with disappointment.

"A conscience" I replied simply. "Something you might want to consider having. You're so worried about me taking one girl away from her friends and family. How many girls have you taken away? How many humans have you ripped away from their comfortable life just to feed your appetite?" I challenged.

"You're a fool, Mattie" Robbie suddenly flared up by my accusations. "James was right about you, you were weak and impressionable. We could have made a good team together, but you ruined it all with your damn conscience!" He stared at me, his eyes were now more of a fiery red than the usual burgundy colour. "Now what do any of us have? We don't even have each other!" he said angrily, though a hint of sorrow crept into his voice. "And now you want to be with a _human_?" He looked at me, disbelief written all over his face. "You left your own brothers, to live with humans!" He shook his head. "_You left me_" he said in his mind, all his pain and suffering over the past two decades pouring over the three small words and into my mind.

"Robbie, I'm..." I started, trying to reach out. I remembered that we used to be so close when we were humans. He was, after all my twin.

"Don't you dare say you're sorry" Robbie stepped back. "You have no idea what it felt like when you left." He glanced into the open window again. "But maybe one day soon, you will" He looked back at me, the fiery red gone and replaced by a determined look. And then he turned on his heel and ran away, leaving me stunned by the plan he had formulated and accidentally sent to me in his head**.**


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 - Sophia**

"Sophia!" I heard the faint call from Rosie's room. My head snapped up, searching outside the window until I saw her. I immediately jumped onto the windowsill and launched myself out, landing at the edge of the meadow.

"Bella, what's happened?" I asked, quickly running up to her.

"They found him" she replied in a strangled voice. "He's still within the borders" she told me and let me run away from her as fast as I could go, following her scent back through the trees. I didn't bother to turn around to see if she was following but soon I could hear her feet crunching through the fallen leaves. "Soph..." she started, and I could hear a funny tone to her voice.

"Did you see him, Bella?" I asked without breaking my stride. I had never seen James, but I was still afraid Bella was going to be able to see the resemblance.

"Yes" she breathed, though running was no effort to us.

"Bella, I'm sorry" I apologised. "I should have warned you"

"About?" Bella asked, looking at me in confusion, but I didn't have time to contemplate on her strange reaction, because I picked up two other scents trailing off in two different directions. The first one was familiar, but it had a strange tinge to it. The other one was also a familiar scent but this one I knew so well that it had become a part of me. Everything else around me disappeared in that blissful moment as I changed directions so suddenly, following the path that would lead me to what I wanted, that Bella had disappeared before I heard her stop, probably realising I wasn't with her. "Sophia?" I heard her call out, but I ignored her as I kept on running towards the scent, letting it get stronger and stronger the closer I came to its source, breathing it in like it was the air that I lived on. I ran until the path came to a stop outside the front of a cave. I sniffed the air and knew that he had gone inside.

I tentatively stepped in and gasped at the sight before me. It was definitely Matthew in there, but his clothes were ripped to shreds and he was huddled in the furthest corner of the cave, muttering incomprehensibly to himself.

"Matt?" I asked, and the sound of my voice resonating around the cave scared me, it was so quiet. I stepped forward again and repeated, softer this time, "Matt?"

"Stay away from me, Soph" he muttered his voice strained and husky, like he hadn't talked for days.

"What's happened to you?" I asked him, ignoring his plea and stepping closer to him.

"I'm serious, Soph" he told me, not opening his eyes. "I'm not good for you anymore. I shouldn't even be around you"

"Matt, how can you say that?" I asked him, bending down so that I was at eye level with him.

"No" Matt shook his head. "Of course, you're just another hallucination. You're not really here. Why would you be here after what I did" he muttered to himself. I stared at him in fear. What was going on?

"Matt, I'm not a hallucination" I told him gently. "I'm really here"

"That's what he told me you would say" Matt muttered and laughed hollowly.

"Who did?" I asked, getting more and more confused by the minute.

"My brother" he said in such a quiet voice that I thought I had misheard him.

"What?" I asked, reaching out to touch his face, but he pulled away. "Matt, James is dead" I told him gently. I knew that he wasn't all too fond of his older brother, but I didn't want to upset him more than I should, he seemed to be hanging on by a thread already.

"No, not James" Matt shook his head. I was even more confused than before, did Matt have another brother that he didn't tell me about? I reached out and put two hands firmly on both sides of his face. He tried to resist me, to not look at me, but he was weak, I guessed that he hadn't eaten much before he ended up here.

"Matt, look at me" I told him firmly. "What are you talking about and what..." I trailed off as Matt slowly lifted his gaze to meet my eyes. Instead of seeing the golden eyes I was so accustomed to, red ones were staring back at me. I heard a gasp escape from my lips as I dropped my hands and took a step back without thinking. "What happened?"

"I'm a monster" Matt said roughly and tore his eyes away from my face.

"No, no" I shook my head, embarrassed at my first reaction. "Matt, you're not a monster" I immediately took his head back in my hands and forced him to look at me again. "But you need to tell me what happened"

"It's terrible" Matt told me in a whisper. "You won't want me anymore"

"That's not true, Matt" I told him firmly. "You are my life now, no matter what happens, I will always love you"

"I ventured too close to civilisation" Matt started explaining and I could hear the hopelessness in his voice. I knew he was preparing himself for me to leave him, so I planted myself down on the ground in front of him, showing him that I wasn't going anywhere. "I didn't see her until it was too late" he told me, closing his eyes again.

And then suddenly I saw the little girl laughing, her brown curls flying behind her as she played some sort of hide and seek game with her family. It happened so quick that I almost missed it, her body was suddenly limp before she could even scream, her head at an impossible angle to her body, blood dripping down her brown hair. And then I tasted the sweet blood and the thirst became unbearable.

He pulled me out of his mind slip harshly and I sat there gasping for breath, the thirst for blood still in my mouth. Matt was looking at me, waiting for a reaction.

"She wasn't even five years old" Matt told me quietly, his voice full of self loathing.

"Matt, you know this isn't your fault" I told him after I had regained my sense of mind, pushing the thirst away so that I could think clearly.

"Of course it is!" Matt told me angrily. "I should have checked to see if any humans were around, I should have had more self control!" He shook his head and we stayed silent for awhile. "You can go now if you want" He said.

"I'm not going anywhere" I told him defiantly. He looked up at me in confusion. "I told you before, Matt. No matter what happens, I will always love you. So I'm not going anywhere" I repeated forcefully.

"No" Matt said quietly, shaking his head. "No, no, no!" he said louder and louder until the last no came out in a shout. "This isn't how it's supposed to happen!"

"How what's supposed to happen?" I asked him, touching my hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down, but it seemed to make him angrier.

"You're supposed to hate me! You're supposed to leave me! You're supposed to tell me you never want to see me again and I'll be alone!" Matt shouted at me. "That's what he said would happen"

"What who said would happen?" I shouted back at him.

"My brother" Matt whispered.

"Matt" I toned down my voice to a soothing whisper. "You don't have a brother anymore. James is dead"

"How...?" He looked at me curiously.

"James was killed because he was hunting Bella, Edward's girlfriend." I explained gently. "You remember Eddie don't you?"

"Eddie?" Matt looked at me, his eyes not totally focusing on my face. "But Robbie didn't mention anything about..." he trailed off, looking confused.

"Robbie?" I asked. "Who's Robbie?"

"What?" Matt looked back up at me, his eyes were now totally focused on my face.

"Who's Robbie?" I repeated.

"He's..." a range of emotions flickered across his face before he answered me in a dead voice. "My twin"

"You're..." I gasped. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You don't understand," Matt shook his head. "I left him all those years ago." His voice shook uncontrollably.

"Matt," I took his hands in mine and stared him straight in the eyes. "Show me" I told him firmly.

And I saw it, not as suddenly as the other vision popped into my head; it came on gradually, the world around me changing colour, the cave's walls turning into buildings, the smell of rock changing to a sweet smell. I looked down and saw a body lying down on the ground, blood seeping out onto the road, and two vampires staring at me. I gasped as I recognised the one on the right, he had the same face, but something in his red eyes was unfamiliar. Something was being said by the older one, and suddenly I was thrown down onto the ground. I felt the panic set in as the older, stronger one was pinning me onto the road, saying words that were blurry to my ears. Then I could hear the desperation in my mind, as I tried to convince the other one to help, the one who was staring helplessly down at me, torn between the two people he loved the most. Suddenly his face was ripped from my vision as I was soaring through the air. No, I was soaring through the town, the buildings melting into trees, the air whipping around my face as I felt the determination to run as fast as I could before the other vampire could catch up. Soon, the trees also melted away to rock and the wind died down around me and then I was back in the cave, Matt's face swimming back into my vision.

"I left him" he said softly, grief filling up his eyes. "He was my twin, and I left him behind with that maniac of a brother. He got hurt, not just physically, but mentally as well"

"Soph?" Rosie's voice rang through the cave, echoing off the walls and startling us. We were so wrapped up in our conversation that we hadn't heard the two vampires that had come in to find us. We turned around to face them and as Bella's gaze rested upon Matt, a sharp intake of breath was heard. Her eyes widened in panic and it looked like she was ready to spring.

"Bella" I said tentatively as Rosie looked over towards her.

"It's not him" Rosie told her gently. "James had a younger brother" she explained slowly. Bella stared at Matt curiously and I subconsciously went into a defensive crouch. I wasn't sure what Bella was going to do but I didn't want to take any chances, especially with Matt being so weak right now.

"They're nothing alike, Bella" I reassured her. "Only related by blood, not by nature"

"I'm..." Matt spoke up from behind me. "I'm sorry for what my brother did to you" he said in a small voice, and Bella relaxed slightly. "I'm not sure what he did, but I can guess. And I'm sorry"

"Matt..." I looked at him irritably. "You and your brother are nothing alike, so there's no need to feel sorry for his actions"

"It's true" Bella spoke up and we all turned to stare at her. "Sorry" she looked at us all with embarrassment. "I shouldn't have over reacted"

"Don't worry" I shook my head. Then suddenly something became so obviously clear to me that I stared at Bella with alarm. "Bella, you told me that you saw Matt before didn't you? You told me that Emmett and Edward had found him?"

"Well..." Bella started, looking confusingly at Matt. "Edward told me it was you, but you had scars all over your body" she told Matt.

"Robbie" I turned to face Matt and everything became clear. Why he thought I was a hallucination and the things that he expected me to say. Why there were two different scents in the forest. Why the others always found dead ends to their searches. The only thing I didn't know was why his twin was doing it to him. But I couldn't wait to get an answer. I stood up and started to run out of the cave, but Matt's desperate grab of my hand stopped me and I turned around, staring into the now focused eyes.

"He's dangerous, Soph" He warned me. He seemed to have snapped out of his trance and his hold on my wrist was unbreakable.

"Emmett" Rosalie breathed at the same time as Bella gasped, "Edward" I turned to them and saw alarmed looks on their faces.

"All the more reason to go" I told him. "The others might be in trouble"

"No they won't" Matt shook his head. "It's two against one, and if you told me they killed James, then Robbie won't be a problem"

"Matt!" I exclaimed I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You cannot tell me that you want Robbie dead, and for those boys out there to be the reason for it!"

"Trust me, its better off this way" Matt told me, his grip unrelenting.

"Well we can't just risk Emmett and Edward's lives like that! How about if Robbie is stronger and quicker than you remembered?" I challenged him.

"He's not after them" Matt said. "_He's after you_" he said quietly in my mind and I reeled back in shock.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 - Matthew (2010)  
**

"Well, well, well. Big brother has made himself a life" I whirled around at the sound of his voice and immediately got into a defensive crouch. My mind raced. "Don't worry, I haven't touched her... yet" he gave me a malicious smile, stretching his crescent shaped scars in a repulsive way.

"Stay away from her" I growled, trying to remember where Sophia was supposed to be now.

"Oh c'mon, Mattie" Robbie moved to a very casual stance. "You knew this day was coming" he shook his head in disappointment. "Or maybe being around humans for so long has gotten to your memory" I growled in response. I didn't know what he was up to and I was torn from staying here and fighting him, or going back home to make sure Sophia was alright. He must have seen the hesitation in my face because he laughed openly. It wasn't the light laughter that I came to know from before, instead it was a deep, throaty laughter that sent my spine tingling.

"What happened to you, Robbie" I asked him, staring at him incredulously. When had my identical twin become so different?

"Well let's see" Robbie started pacing and I eyed him, not coming out of my stance. "Starting from the very beginning, I thought my two brothers were dead. Then after a few months, and three days of the most insufferable pain known to man, I find out that my brothers are alive! And that they had loved me enough to let me join them in their newfound life. Then, as soon as I think everything is going well, what happens" he looked pointedly at me and I winced under his painful stare, "my twin brother leaves me. And my older brother starts inflicting pain on me because he's angry that I had stopped him getting to you. And just when I think things couldn't possibly get any worse, James also walks out on me" he stopped pacing and started advancing on me slowly. "Though of course, that didn't hurt as much as when you walked out on me. I had sort of expected it, knew it was bound to happen. But just when I think I've hit rock bottom, guess what, that wasn't the end of my sufferings.

"I finally find my twin brother after 20 years of searching, now that might not seem that long to an immortal, but it is to someone who has had every person they depended on suddenly ripped out from underneath them." He growled. "But how do I find my brother? Wrapped up in a girl's arms. And now not just any normal girl, it was a _human_ girl!" high pitched laughter came floating out of his mouth. "Then I find out that he's in love with her, and is going to change her! Now I've seen some crazy things in my day, and it has definitely been a long day! But changing a human girl to be one of us because you _love_ her, that is a first" he shook his head.

"And now I've gotten to thinking" I was aware that Robbie was slowly getting closer and closer, and I still hadn't made up my mind whether to fight him or protect Sophia. "All this time, after everything that I have suffered, I want revenge" he said darkly and for a second, he looked like James.

"Is that what your whole plan is about?" I asked him incredulously. "Revenge?"

"I was left alone so many times, and what do I get every single time? I get left in pain!" he shouted at me. "And you and James end up with the loves of your lives! So now, I'm going to rip that one away from you like you had ripped yourself away from my life" Robbie said dangerously.

"You will do no such thing" I growled, knowing that I had to stay here and fight, I couldn't risk waiting another 60 or so years for Robbie to come again.

"She's such a pretty thing" Robbie said quietly, looking down at the town. The town which Sophia and I had just settled into. She was down there amongst the twinkling lights, oblivious to the goings on up here and that's how she would stay, oblivious and protected. "She looks even better now that she's a vampire" My head snapped up and saw Robbie calmly looking at me now.

"What?" I demanded. "You've been following us?"

"No, not you" Robbie shook his head, his face eerily complacent. "Just her, when you're out hunting"

"Why are you doing this?" I asked.

"I already told you before, Mattie" his eyes flashed. "I want you to know the feeling, the pain, when someone you love dearly, something that you depend your whole life on, is taken away. Why should I be the only one suffering?" he demanded.

"And how about James?" I asked, "How are you going to deal with him? Are you going to try and take away that red-headed cat he was with last? You don't even know where he is, and let's face it; he's better at covering his tracks than you are at tracking them"

"James has already been dealt with, he met his match" his burgundy eyes glittered dangerously.

"What do you mean?" I asked him carefully.

"You haven't heard?" Robbie looked at me, feigning surprised. I could tell that he was going to revel in this moment of glory. "James is dead"

"How?" I asked, though I knew the answer already. The way his eyes had looked, the proud smile he had on his face, I knew who killed James.

"Someone who was much stronger than he was, obviously" Robbie looked away nonchalantly, but I could tell he was still staring at me, waiting for my reaction. I didn't care for James' departure from this world, it was a better place without him in it, but I couldn't believe that Robbie was the one who had done it. Sweet, innocent little Robbie. My younger twin brother.

"I don't believe you" I growled at him. "You could never overpower someone as strong as James"

"Who says that I'm not stronger now?" Robbie suddenly demanded. "I'm probably stronger than you as well" he challenged just before he sprang. But I could sense it coming, the way his eyes looked, the way he had shifted his foot back just before he sprung. I stepped back a little, causing him to fall short and land in a heap on the ground. He recovered quickly and took me around the middle.

I was surprised at how strong he had actually become, he wasn't lying. I wrestled with him on the ground, making sure that he kept his venomous teeth away from my skin. But he had flipped me over and I was now pinned down to the ground, his teeth getting closer and closer to my neck. I used the ground as a lever and pushed him off me, causing him to fly through the air and crash into a tree, uprooting it. I stood up and ran to him before he had a chance to get up. I put one hand on his neck and pushed down, just enough to leave him squirming uncomfortably. I saw him staring up at me, trying to escape my grip, but he was at a disadvantage.

And without warning, I realised that I was no longer staring at my younger twin brother. The face that was staring back at me was someone I didn't even recognise.

"You ever come near us again, and I will kill you" I growled at the murderous stranger under my palm. He looked at me, fear flickering momentarily across his eyes, and nodded his head slowly. I hesitated at lifting my hand off his neck, unsure of whether or not I could trust him anymore. But as I slowly lifted my hand, he didn't move. "Robbie, I'm sorry for what I did to you, and I would have thought that by now you would have realised the pain that it caused me too. But hear this" and I pushed my face closer to his. "You come near my Sophia, and I won't hesitate ripping you into shreds"


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 – Sophia**

"He's been after you for over half a century now" Matt was explaining all of this while my mind was numb. I couldn't wrap my head around somebody wanting to kill me for the past 50 or so years.

"But why?" Rosalie asked, stepping forward to put a comforting hand on my shoulder again.

"Because he wants revenge" Matt said quietly. "I had left him behind all those years ago and he was abused by James. He wanted me to know how it feels to have someone you love taken away" he stared meaningfully at me.

"So he wanted to take me away from you" I said quietly and Matt nodded in confirmation. "But even so, Edward and Emmett are out there fighting him. What's to say he won't kill them too?"

"Because he's not strong enough" Matt said, and a range of emotions crossed his face. He looked embarrassed and angry. "He had me believe that he was stronger than he actually was. James was always the fastest and the strongest one, and Robbie had me believe that he had killed James, overpowered him" he shook his head. "But it was all a lie" he said more to himself than anyone else. "Soph, you cannot go to him, it's what he wants" he pleaded with me.

"But how about if he goes to her?" A cold voice filled up the cave as we all whirled around to see a grotesque looking man standing at the mouth of the cave. He had the same light brown hair, the same build, and even the same smile, in a strange, eerie, sort of way, as Matt. But he was so different in his manner that there was no way I would have mistaken him for Matt.

"Robbie" Matt snarled and went into a defensive stance in front of me along with Rosalie and Bella.

"It's very nice to see you again Sophia" Robbie greeted me casually, as if three tense vampires weren't between us. "I have to say, you look much better close up than from far away. I definitely know what my brother sees in you" he looked at me up and down, making my spine tingle.

"Stay away from her, Rob" Matt growled and Rosalie and Bella growled along with him. I stood frozen to the spot, the person who resembled Matt so closely stood in front of me, but instead of the warm smile that I was used to, he was looking at me like I was some kind of prey. Something that he wanted to kill. Something that he was _determined_ to kill.

"_There's no need to be afraid, Sophia_" his voice rang in my mind, and I stepped back in shock. It sounded so much like Matt that for a fraction of a second, I thought it was him. "_You've seen me before, and you weren't afraid then, remember?_" he asked. Then as my surroundings melted away, I saw myself sitting in the classroom, glancing out of the window. And sure enough, I hadn't looked scared, just curious at who was outside. Then the vision changed, and I was standing far away, underneath the safety of a tree well outside school grounds, but I saw myself perfectly clear, staring at myself curiously until Edward and Bella interrupted. I hadn't looked scared, and I felt pleased about that. But as the school grounds melted away, I felt sick to my stomach as the next vision he showed me was of myself sitting behind my sewing machine, familiar blue satin material being sewn and cut into shape. He had been so close to me, knowing that he was keeping Matt prisoner, playing with my mind as he lured me through the house towards the familiar, yet strange scent. The last vision lingered in my head long after the cave swam back into view. I was sitting alone with Matt's shirt pressed up against my nose. "_You see, just see me as your darling Matt and this will be as painless as possible_" he told me, his smile still on his face.

"Never" I growled back. No matter how hard I tried, I knew that I could never see him as my angel and I would never give him the satisfaction of thinking that he might be as good as Matt.

"Well, you caught my bluff" Robbie sighed dramatically. "You know that this won't be painless" he laughed, a cruel, cold laugh, and Rosalie sprang without anyone noticing. She landed in the middle of his chest, her feet pushing into his ribs, and her hands on his head.

"Rosie!" I screamed as Robbie easily swung her over his head and out of the cave before she had a chance to do any real damage. I went out to get her but Matt held me back.

"She's out of danger now" Matt hissed, and while I knew that Rosie wouldn't have been hurt, I couldn't help but want to go and see if she was ok.

"She's a feisty one" Robbie chuckled then turned back to us, a cold glint in his red eyes. "So who's going to be next?" he asked, staring at each of us carefully. His eyes rested on Bella. "You're a pretty one too" he cocked his head and examined her as she snarled in response.

"Bella, get behind me" Matt told her, stepping forward cautiously so that he would be in front of us two. "Now!" he ordered her when she didn't move. She slowly walked back to me, not taking her eyes of Robbie, and grabbed my hand as soon as she could. "Rob, you don't want to be doing this" Matt started reasoning with him.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Robbie taunted. "You're weak as anything!" he laughed.

"Well when you start hunting my girl, somehow I've found enough strength to kill you" Matt growled.

"Matt..." I breathed, not wanting him to do anything, and also knowing that what Robbie was saying was true.

"You should listen to your girlfriend, Mattie" Robbie smiled at him. "She knows what she's talking about. You haven't eaten for days, too afraid to venture out of this cave, too afraid of what your precious little girlfriend might think if she found out you're a cold blooded murderer" he snarled. "You know, I thought I would have such a hard time keeping you here, I thought I'd collect more scars for myself" he glanced subconsciously at the scars on his arms. "But that little girl was just too easy to lure into your path, and the way you killed her!" he smacked his lips. "It was just all too delicious" I felt Bella next to me fidget; I knew she felt exactly the same way I did. Loathing and anger mixed in with a sense of disgust.

"It was you" Matt sneered.

"Of course!" Robbie rolled his eyes. "After that, it was just all too easy to feed on your guilt. Your imagination running wild as it was, it wasn't too hard to convince you that you were hallucinating" he chuckled in a low voice, keeping his eyes on Matt. "You know, you came here a little too early, Sophia" he turned his murderous gaze onto me. "You were supposed to wait in the town, wait for your beautiful Mattie to come home. But one day, instead of finding Mattie sitting in the couch, you would have found me, and I would have told you some cock and bull story about a vampire fight, but I had come out on top. And in the joy of having Mattie back, you wouldn't think twice that it just might not be him" he smiled at his memory and I shuddered, I could see how that would have played out easily. It would have been much too late by the time I figured out that the arms I was in wasn't Matt's at all. I thought about that last lingering vision Robbie had given me. I thought I had smelt Matt, and everything else had flown out of my mind as I flew through the house trying to find him. It sent a shiver down my back.

"But it's ok" Robbie continued. "Because instead of having to wait another day or so, you have come to me" he smiled maliciously, his red eyes glinting. "And you brought your friends too" he turned to Matt slowly. "I can see why you idolised your friend Eddie so much; he's a very strong fighter"

"What did you do to him?" Bella growled beside me, I felt her whole body go tense at the mention of her husband's name.

"Don't worry, you'll see him in one piece" Robbie rolled his eyes at her. "I have no time for that pretty boy and the cub he was with, what I really wanted is you, Sophia" he looked back at me as Matt snarled. "Now come on, Mattie!" he threw his hands up in frustration. "You knew this day was coming. What, you think your threats would have held me back?" he laughed. "I'm not going to kill you anyway; I don't know why you're so uptight about it"

It all happened very quickly. One second Matt was crouched before me, and the next, it was a tumble of bodies at the mouth of the cave, roars filling up the empty space. I couldn't help but just look at them wrestling each other, but soon, I could see Matt failing. It was true, Matt didn't have the strength, he hadn't eaten for days and he was weak.

And as fast as it happened, I saw his teeth coming towards Matt's neck so slowly that it looked like someone had accidentally pressed the slow-motion button on a TV. I felt myself screaming, but I don't remember what came out. I ran towards him as fast as I could, reaching him just as his teeth sunk into Matt's neck. I heard the blood-curdling scream that came out of Matt's mouth and I tackled Robbie with all my might. We tumbled out of the cave and through the forest, trees passing us with a mighty blur. We finally stopped, crushing a boulder as a consequence and we both sprang up, crouching opposite each other, assessing our opponent's weaknesses.

I saw the stunned expression on Robbie's face turn to one of glee. He had managed to get me alone without thinking about it. But my mind was too angry to even think about the predicament I was in. This man in front of me was the reason Edward and Emmett might have been hurt, he was the reason why Rosalie was thrown violently out of the cave, and he was the reason why my angel up there was screaming in pain.

"You know, Sophia, I must say, you look much better now than you ever did when you were human" Robbie told me. I knew he was taunting me, but the fact that he had seen me before I was changed unnerved me. "I could never see what it was about you that appealed to my brother. But now that I see you like this" he indicated my body, running his eyes over it, almost hungrily. "You know you don't have to die" he told me. "After all, Mattie and I are identical twins, pretty soon you'll probably forget that you're with the wrong one and love me like you love him" he looked me over again. "I wouldn't mind having a piece of you" His words made me feel something I had never felt before. As a vampire nor a human. Anger surged through my body, and I snapped my jaws at him. "Well, can't blame a man for trying" he shrugged. "I'll just have to settle with having a piece of you, in the literal sense" he said just before he sprang, mouth open, teeth glistening as the sun's rays hit it.

I knew that I had to get as far from those teeth as possible, but no matter where I went, it seemed like I was making myself an easier target for him. So I leant back and pushed my feet up, making contact with his chest easily, and kicked him as hard as I could. I saw him flying through the air, and then a mighty snap as a tree fell down.

"You're a feisty one, Sophia" Robbie called out, already running back to me, but I was ready. I crouched into a defensive stance and waited for Robbie to reappear. Soon enough, I heard him coming from behind me and I whirled around, ready to attack. But a blur of blonde had come hurtling through the woods and tackled Robbie from his side. They tumbled away and with a great surge of energy, I ran towards them. By the time I reached them, they were crouched, ready to spring at each other.

"Blondie came back" Robbie was smiling maliciously at her as I approached and took a fighting stance next to Rosie. "I might not have the appetite for two lovely vampires, but I think I could manage" he smiled cruelly at us. Rosalie snarled in response.

"How about four more?" a deep voice rumbled from behind us. I turned around in surprise, but Rosie stayed focused on Robbie. Out of the shadows came four angry looking vampires, Emmett leading them like a war God. I turned back to face Robbie and saw fear suddenly etched into his face.

"Don't even try and think about running" Edward snarled.

"Sophia, Rose" Alice said our names smoothly, but with a hint of urgency. We stood up slowly and went back towards the group. "Where's Bella and Matt?" she asked, and I saw Edward's eyes quickly glance over.

"They're together up at the cave" I replied, forgetting that I had cleared my mind, it was second nature now, every time that I saw Edward. "They're safe, but Matt was bitten."

"Edward, Sophia, go back up to the cave and see if Matt's ok" Jasper told us, not losing his focus on Robbie. "He will be in a lot of pain for awhile" he said grimly, his own battle scars shining brightly in the sunlight. Without being told twice, Edward and I ran back towards the cave. It wasn't long before we heard roars coming from behind us. I hesitated briefly, wanting to know what happened, but Edward grabbed my arm and forced me to keep going.

"They're ok" Edward reassured me, and I knew that he was keeping his mind's eye on them. "Robbie won't be a problem anymore" he said quietly after a couple of seconds.

We heard Matt's screams before we even saw the cave. As soon as we were in there, I skidded to a halt in front of Matt, leaving two dents in the ground. I knelt down and put Matt's pained face in my hands.

"Matt, I'm here" I tried to soothe him. I looked up and saw Edward and Bella embracing each other in a hug that would have crushed any human to dust. "Thanks for staying with him, Bella" I told her.

"I think the pain is subsiding a little" she admitted, looking ashamed that she hadn't been able to do anything except wait. I smiled gratefully at her and then turned my attention back to my angel.

"Matt, just hold on ok?" I told him. "I'm right here" I soothed him, kissing every part of his face. I was glad that his screams had died down, and he was now just gritting his teeth, his eyes closed.

"Mattie" Edward said softly, kneeling next to me and taking Matt's hand to my surprise. "You can pull through this, remember how you wanted to feel pain, just to feel a little more human?" he spoke so softly that I wasn't sure I was hearing him right. "Well as per usual, you got more than you bargained for" Edward laughed shortly, and to my surprise, Matt's lips curved into a half smile. "I'm sorry that I got so angry at you before, Matt" Edward said, his eyes downcast. "You were a great friend to me in those days, and if it wasn't for you, I probably would have been too scared to go back to Carlisle and Esme."

"Well I was always right" Matt choked out, and I couldn't help but laugh at the sound of his beautiful voice.

"Matt" I said quietly, smiling down at him. He reached out and put one hand on my face.

"You're ok" Matt said with relief.

"Of course" I laughed. "And you're ok too"

"With you here, of course I am" Matt smiled at me, and though the sun wasn't shining inside the cave, my whole world brightened with that smile.


	19. Epilogue

**Epilogue - Sophia  
**

"Sophia!" an angry voice floated up the stairs. I closed my eyes and groaned.

"She's been around Alice way too long" Bella giggled, turning off the music we had blaring out of Edward's speakers.

"I guess it was naïve of me to think I could hide" I smiled grimly at Bella.

"Sorry" Bella shrugged. "I tried to help"

"Which is why I'm taking you Bella" Alice appeared at the doorway, grinning evilly, though there was a light dancing in her golden eyes. "You'll call it punishment, but I'll call it helping out the needy" she smiled proudly, knowing Bella was already defeated.

"I'll see you in a little bit" Bella smiled at me before following Alice grudgingly out of her bedroom.

"Oh, and Sophia" Alice stuck her head in the room. "I'll go to Rosie soon, _before_ she decides to set you on fire" she winked at me and disappeared. I sighed and stood up slowly.

"Sophia!" I heard the voice closer now. I considered hiding again, but I trusted Alice's advice and so I went to the door.

"I'm here, Rosie" I said calmly and two seconds later, the beautiful, blonde Rosie was standing in front of me, arms across her chest and her eyes flaming at me.

"You would think that it was me getting married and not you!" she tapped her foot on the floor.

"Sorry, Rosie" I apologised, allowing her to lead me into her room which had been transformed into something like a beauty saloon.

"Sit!" she pointed to a chair that was positioned in front of a mirror, and obediently I sat. She muttered under her breath the entire time she was curling and pinning my hair up into an elaborate design. I closed my eyes as she went to work on me and thought about the last couple of months. How my life had abruptly changed.

I had the best friend I could possibly find in Rosie. We were very much inseparable, unless we were with our respective others of course. We continued our 'normal' high school lives, enjoying every minute of it. Laughing at Dan as he continued making puppy dog eyes at Rosie, contributing whatever piece of gossip we had with Gabby, comforting Nina when her and Kyle broke up, then celebrating with her a week after when they got back together.

I had found a family that loved me as their own. Esme and Carlisle had taken me under their wing, treating me as if I was one of their children. The others had taken me with open arms, showing me what it was like spending time with other vampires. I could use all my strength in the sporting games we played without being afraid of using too much force or speed. I didn't have to keep up a mask with my new family, because we were all the same. I could totally be myself around them, and I found that it was refreshing.

And finally, I had found my angel again. The night we were reunited became the best night of my life. I had never realised how good his touch felt, how warm his eyes made me feel, how secure his embrace was, and how blissful the house was with his presence. He went out hunting the next day, he was still very weak. But this time he went with Edward and Jasper, and they all returned the following day. We still kept our house, even though we spent more time at the Cullen's than we did at our own, him and Edward sorting out through their differences over the next week. I remember sitting on the floor of Edward's room one night when Rosie was with Emmett, Bella and I were going through a stack of CDs, trying to find a better sorting system than the one Edward currently had going. We could never find what we wanted unless we knew what century it was from and whether or not Edward liked it.

"So what happened to you after you left anyway?" Matt had asked Edward. They were both sitting on the bed, reminiscing about their days together.

"Went back to Esme and Carlisle" Edward replied, looking down at his hands. "I want you to know just how sorry I am about that night"

"You already told me" Matt waved his hand dismissively.

"I know, but you have no idea what you did to me that night" Edward told him.

"I made you angry" Matt said quietly.

"No" Edward shook his head. "You made me realise what a hypocrite I was" he said quietly.

"I never thought of you as..." Matt started, looking horrified.

"I know" Edward put his hand up to stop Matt. "But you were right, about everything you told me. I wasn't angry at you"

"Well..." Matt raised an eyebrow and Edward's eyes drifted away, looking at something that wasn't in this room. When he came back, he pursed his lips.

"Well I was _indirectly_ angry at you then" he corrected himself and the two boys shared a smile.

"Ok, I have to ask now" I interrupted their conversation that was driving me insane. "Matt, what did you say to Edward that made him so mad?"

"Well he was trying to convince me that we didn't always have to feed on humans for the millionth time" Matt rolled his eyes. "That he had two people back where he used to live who lived peacefully amongst humans. One night he found me feeding on a human, someone who was innocent and had survived an attack from a rapist, only to be consumed by me."

"How'd she survive?" Bella asked in a small voice. "The rapist that is" she added in a strange voice, not really looking at Matt properly.

"James killed him" Matt replied quietly and Bella gasped. We looked at her quickly and she smiled at us.

"Sorry, over reacting again" she laughed embarrassedly, giving Edward a reassuring smile. "Keep going" she pushed Matt.

"Well I was planning on saving the girl, but James had come up behind me, I hadn't seen him for a couple of days" he glanced quickly at Edward. "I always made sure that him and Robbie never met Eddie. I knew what they would say if they found out about my estranged friendship with him" he smiled grimly. "But Robbie found out through a mind spill of mine" he looked up regretfully, "and told James, thinking that it was the right thing to do" he quickly defended his brother. "He used to be sweet, always doing what he thought was right, but he was very naïve." Matt sighed. He reassured us that he had already grieved over his lost brother long before the others killed him.

"So James followed me and tempted me with the sweet blood of a young lady" Matt closed his eyes in pain.

"I didn't understand what had happened and the sight made me sick" Edward took over the story, putting a reassuring hand on Matt's back. "Matt tried to show me his side of the story, but I was too outraged to listen" he looked at his friend with regret. "Then he told me that if I don't want to snack on humans, then why was I there with him"

"Eddie's being nice" Matt laughed. "I think what I actually said was, 'If you don't want to snack on humans, then why did you leave your precious vampires to do exactly that, they wouldn't be very proud of you'. I was very mad" he explained.

"But you were very right" Edward said in a small voice. "I knew that the entire time I was out there that I was disappointing them, especially Carlisle, who had given me everything. But I didn't want to hear it, I got mad and I ran. I found myself in front of Carlisle and Esme's house and they welcomed me back into their homes with open arms." He looked over at Matt with sadness. "I didn't want to think about you anymore, mainly because you were part of my life that I didn't like thinking about, but also because I felt guilty"

"You felt guilty?" Matt stared at him incredulously. "I was the one who pushed you away. You had every right to be angry at me, I had promised that I would try your animal diet and the first opportunity I had, I went back on my promise"

"James can be very manipulative" Edward pointed out. "And I do feel guilty, because in all of this, I was the one who turned my back on the one person who made me feel like I was at home during those years away from Carlisle and Esme. It was a funny way of saying thanks for being there with me"

"Well, thanks for being there with me too" Matt smiled at him.

"So why didn't you tell me that you and Edward ended on bad terms?" I asked, interrupting the renewal of their friendship.

"Because I wanted to keep thinking of the good times in our friendship" Matt explained.

"Then you were a bigger man than I was" Edward told him. "I didn't tell anyone about you; basically I just deleted you from my history. I didn't want to ever think about it"

"Well it's all in the past now" Matt smiled at him.

"Do you two want to be alone?" I asked, looking at how the two were smiling childishly at each other.

"I mean, we can sort out these CDs later?" Bella told them, waving the CDs she was holding in her hand.

"Oh don't worry" Edward shook his head.

"We have plenty of time to be alone" Matt wiggled his eyebrows and we all laughed knowing that the worst was behind us.

* * *

"And what are you smiling so cheerfully about?" Rosie asked, breaking into my memory.

"I'm just happy" I told her, keeping my eyes closed.

"Soph" Rosie suddenly stopped on my hair and was in front of me. Her voice had turned serious and so I opened my eyes and looked at her. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course" I sat up properly and looked at Rosie curiously. She looked so concerned and worried.

"You really do want to get married don't you?" Rosie asked tentatively.

"Of course" I had to laugh at her question. It was just so absurd.

"Well, I was just worried that you're only doing this because I guilted you into it" Rosie looked down.

"Rosie, you didn't guilt me into it!" I reassured her. "You made me see how silly I was about not wanting to get married in the first place. I had felt so guilty about my first marriage and you showed me that it wasn't my fault. Jason was with someone who didn't love him back, but he could never let go of me" I repeated the words she told me all those weeks ago. "If I had stayed then he would have ended up being miserable with me, and as morbid as it sounds, he probably would have met the same fate, just a little later" I said quietly.

"I know" Rosie nodded slowly. "But you were hiding from me all of today, like you didn't really want to do this"

"That's because I don't want to be pampered today" I sighed. "As much as I want to get married to Matt" I reassured her, "I don't want to be reminded of my last wedding where I had to wake up at 5 in the morning to start getting ready" I rolled my eyes.

"But I didn't want you to feel like I was pushing you into something you didn't want to do" Rosie told me.

"I want to do this" I laughed again and Rosie shot me a dark look. I sighed and took her hands. "I love Matt, I want to be with him, and let's face it my fears of him ending up like Jason are slim to none. He left me once, and we don't plan on it happening again" I shrugged.

"Only if you're sure" Rosie told me, still looking quite unconvinced.

"Rosie!" I threw my hands up in exasperation. "You cannot be the one getting cold feet here! I already made your matron of honour's dress!"

"Oh!" Rosie suddenly brightened up. "Which reminds me" she said before disappearing into her wardrobe. I stared after her in surprise. Less than a second later she reappeared carrying a white dress bag. She carried it over to me and set it down on my lap.

"What is this?" I stared at the bag with wide eyes.

"You need something new" Rosie told me.

"But I don't have anything old, borrowed or blue" I told her stupidly.

"Well if you have a look up into the mirror, those pins in your hair are mine from my first marriage to Emmett. So they're old, borrowed and blue" she told me with a smile. I glanced into the mirror and realised that I had missed my whole transformation. Rosie had swept my fringe and pinned it to the side of my face, she had then created a twisted headband of my hair with curls coming out on the other side. To these curls, she had pinned very pretty shiny blue flower pins randomly around my long hair. They stood out brightly against my dark black hair and made my hair sparkle when they caught the light.

"Wow" I breathed.

"I know, I know, I did a good job" Rosie rolled her eyes with impatience. "Can you open up your something new already?" I laughed at her and unzipped the dress bag. White material came spilling out and Rosie caught it with one swift movement and held up the dress for me to have a look at.

"Rosie, I have a wedding dress already" I told her quietly.

"Sophia, will you let me give this to you?" Rosie told me firmly. "You cannot wear your graduation dress to your wedding, as gorgeous as it is" she rolled her eyes again. "You are wearing this" she held out the dress again and reluctantly I put it on. "Now that wasn't so hard was it" Rosie smiled as she turned me around to face the mirror.

I had to admit Rosie had good taste and it did look good. It was a white satin, strapless dress. The skirt puffed out a little with the layers starting from the waist and ending on the floor. Separating the top and skirt section of the dress was a baby blue ribbon tied up in a bow, the ends of it running the length of the skirt. On the right side of the dress, 5 blue flowers were embroidered running down the dress with the ribbon.

"Thank you" I breathed, turning around and enveloped Rosie in a hug. "Not just for the dress, but for everything"

"We'll call it even shall we?" Rosie laughed as she hugged me tighter.

"I'll call it even when you put on the dress that I made you!" I told her, letting go and pushing her towards her wardrobe where her dress was hanging.

"Ok, ok!" Rosie laughed and had the dress on in a second. "So how do I look?" she twirled around. I examined her from every angle. The baby blue material ended up being a strapless dress, the skirt ended just under the knee and flowed down so that it flew out when she turned around.

"I think it needs something a little extra" I finally said, disappearing into Rosie's wardrobe where I remembered leaving a white sash there amongst my other clothes. We had taken to sharing clothes by now, doubling our wardrobe in a matter of seconds. "Here we go" I took the sash and wrapped it around her waist and tied it up, letting the ends fall down. "Perfect" I smiled in satisfaction.

We turned around to look at ourselves in the mirror, commenting on how our dresses complemented each other, whilst her blonde hair and golden eyes contrasted starkly with my black hair and black eyes.

"Knock, knock" Alice said as she waltzed into the room, followed by a relieved looking Bella holding a white shoe box.

"Wow you two look amazing!" Bella breathed.

"Thank you" Rosie smiled and looked excitedly at the box. "You finally brought it in!"

"What?" I stared apprehensively at Bella's arms. "Rosie, you already bought me this dress!" I complained.

"This is not just from Rose" Alice reasoned.

"It's from our entire family" Bella smiled as she gave me the box. I opened it up and saw a beautiful pair of white shoes. It had a white satin strap going across the toes, twisting in the middle. The heel was covered with the same white satin material, held in place by two white thin straps going on either side of the foot. The back of the heel matched the theme of the dresses and had a small baby blue flower stuck on.

"Thanks" I looked up at them and realised Esme had entered the room, smiling at me.

"Let's put them on" she told me warmly and took the box out of my hand and put the shoes on my feet.

"Thank you" I told her as she straightened up and threw my arms around her. "Thanks everyone" I looked around at the girls and gave them all a hug. "Make sure you tell the guys thank you as well" I examined my new shoes.

"Like they took any part in getting you a wedding present" Alice rolled her eyes.

"C'mon" Esme led me softly out the room. "It's time" she said excitedly as the girls followed behind. We walked down the stairs where Carlisle was waiting for me.

"You girls look beautiful" he smiled kindly, offering his arm and Esme handed me over.

"Thank you for doing this" I told him gratefully. I had asked him to give me away a couple of weeks ago. He was the closest thing I had to a father, even compared to my real father, and I was ecstatic when he had agreed whole-heartedly.

"It is my honour" Carlisle told me as Esme, Alice and Bella kissed me on the cheek, wishing me luck, and walked outside.

The ceremony was out the back of the Cullen house in the large meadow. I was apprehensive about this setup, thinking it might have become a sore reminder of my last marriage, but as I stepped outside after Rosie had walked down the aisle, I saw that the make-shift altar was underneath the shade of the trees. I saw Matt standing there, the sunlight that had escaped the leaves was bouncing off him, letting him sparkle, his golden eyes staring intently at me. Instead of reminding me about my last wedding, it reminded me of my graduation back in 1953, the first time that I had seen him. I smiled, feeling relaxed and secure.

"Are you ready?" Carlisle whispered to me. I looked out at the sea of faces, seeing my friends from school beaming at me. Of course they thought nothing of our 'age' when we announced we were getting married. And of course my new sparkling family looked completely normal to them as well. I looked up at Carlisle and nodded my head smiling. "Then let's go" he patted my hand and we started the walk down the aisle.

I turned my gaze back to the front and saw Edward standing tall next to Matt. He smiled at me and I saw how proud he was of his friend. How the century between them had melted away into nothingness in the past couple of months. And how glad he was that Matt had me. I smiled back at him to say thank you for being a great friend, not just to me, but to Matt as well, and I knew that he was reading my mind as he averted his gaze quickly to his best friend standing next to him. I turned my focus on Rosie and she smiled at me reassuringly.

Finally, I let my eyes rest on the one thing that made me feel like I was secure and at home.

My Angel.


End file.
